


Who’s the Liar?

by jcause



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-13 08:53:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 38,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7970626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jcause/pseuds/jcause
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paige McCullers might be the only one who can stop another tragedy in Rosewood as she finds herself a part of Emily's circle of friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The Pretty Little Liars don't belong to me. I'm just spending some time with them for a little while.  
> This is a completed work. I hope to have all the chapters posted over here in the next day or so.

Sunday night

"How was it that a week which was supposed to be as mundane as any other ended with me covered in blood holding a shovel?" Paige McCullers thought as someone put a blanket around her shaking form. It was a welcome relief. Her body was ice cold which seemed odd, as nights in Rosewood didn't get frigid until at least December. 

Paige was incapable of piecing things together right now. Nothing was right about her circumstance. Desperately trying to keep her eyes on anywhere but the ground in front of her she was grateful her legs were still working. The smell of metal and dirt was starting to overwhelm her as her grip on the heavy metal tool was being carefully pried loose by a kind looking police officer with brown eyes and a gentle smile. He gave her something to concentrate on but where had he come from?

It dawned on Paige as she tried to concentrate on him that the uniformed Rosewood officer, who was now carefully handing off the shovel to someone holding a large clear plastic bag, was speaking to her. Paige couldn't make out the words, which sent her heart racing. Her head was pounding and she suddenly felt a warm, wet, sensation come over her. Ringing in her ears replaced the silence, as her eyes glanced where she told herself not to look. The room started to spin. 

In the split second before everything went dark her thoughts were on only one thing. Emily.

...

One week earlier. – Monday Morning

The school year was in full swing and never short of interesting developments. Most high schools only had to deal with stupid gossip like which cheerleader was dating which jock or which teacher was getting a divorce but Rosewood High School was different. 

It had been the disappearance of Alison DiLaurentis, which had started Rosewood into a tailspin. Parents watched their kids like hawks and for every student at Rosewood there was a theory on what had happened to Alison. It wasn't until her body was found that the glib theories about her running away for one reason or another turned into over exaggerated grief. Sure some in school, like Alison's close friends, deserved to mourn her but it was the rest of the school that Paige McCullers couldn't stand crying over the dead blond. Alison had been the definition of 'mean girl' so hearing students Alison used to make cry fain sadness caused Paige to immediately turn the other direction and turn up her iPod.

As time passed the chatter about Alison's death evolved into unfair whispers about her close circle that seemed cursed by their friend's death. The four girls were as thick as thieves, which was surprising as they couldn't be more different.

Spencer Hastings was the brainiac of the group. Having shared a couple classes with the straight A student Paige found that Spencer was insightful but seemingly stoic. She didn't have what anyone would call a sense of humor but there was no denying her intelligence or her understated beauty. This made the youngest Hastings completely unapproachable but someone Paige secretly admired.

Aria Montgomery was the most artsy of the foursome and seemingly the most rebellious. The fellow high school senior had recently been seen around town in close conversation with the school's former high school English teacher. This had some of her classmates quietly whispering. Perhaps it was some kind of tutoring arrangement but having witnessed Aria and Mr. Fitz chatting at a coffee shop Paige suspected there was more between them than words. Whatever their deal Paige didn't care one bit but if they were dating it would explain the former teacher's departure from the Rosewood Faculty. 

Hanna Marin was the group's fashion plate. The blonde could have easily qualified for most popular girl in school but she instead defied stereotypes and was probably the groups must accessible member. There wasn't a hint of mean that ever came off Hanna unless someone was mean first but if you were unlucky enough to piss her off it was best to look out. Recently the blonde had been a little lost looking as she wandered through the hallways of Rosewood. Her best friend from outside the circle, Mona, was placed in Radley Sanitarium diagnosed with some kind of personality disorder. Paige had seen Hanna once or twice over the summer and had wanted to say hello but there didn't seem to be a polite way to say, "I'm sorry your friend is nuts". 

Then there was Emily Fields who Paige was not so secretly in love. Emily had served as Paige's wake-up call, first kiss, and first heartbreak. Having watched Emily from afar as she tackled the hallways of Rosewood as an out teen was remarkable. As they began to face off during their time on the swim team it felt safer to be as confrontational as possible than risk exposing her feelings of attraction to the dark-haired beauty. Paige’s plan didn’t last long and in one very unguarded moment she revealed all in an unplanned passionate kiss in the front seat of Emily's car. 

After a couple starts and stops the pair began quietly dating but as fearless as Paige tried to be she failed. Where Emily was confident about whom she was and what she wanted Paige's cowardice ended something that made her happy. By the time Paige got around to taking the step towards acceptance it was too late. Emily had moved on with an ex. 

The foursome, Paige predicted, would be forever bound by friendship and grief over the loss of Alison in the same way that Emily Fields would forever hold a big piece of Paige's heart. 

So when the conversation in the school courtyard during lunch turned to more gossip surrounding the disappearance of Alison's remains and someone, a little to loudly, accused Emily and her friends of the crime Paige couldn't help but step in. Getting up from the bench next to the cliche of jocks Paige moved in to silence them. "Maybe if you spent as much time practicing your jump shot as you do running your mouth off our school would finally win a city championship."

"Mind your own business dyke."

A year ago Paige would have considered running away if someone had said that but not anymore. She wasn't afraid of words in fact Paige liked to think she wasn't afraid of anything anymore. Through therapy she had learned giving anything power over her happiness was no way to live. Before Paige had a chance to make that particular point clear one of the faculty stepped in.

"Mr. Polar! Principal’s office. Now!" Ms. Montgomery demanded. 

After a quick look of anger in Paige's direction, the basketball team's point guard did as he was told. His departure, and the look of seriousness on the face of one of the school's better liked teachers, sent the rest of the group scattering out of the courtyard. It was a good thing they left. Paige didn’t want to explain what the group of them had been accusing said teacher's daughter of doing. Spreading rumors about digging up corpses wasn’t something a mother wanted to hear and wasn’t something Paige wanted to have to explain. Either way the courtyard cleared out leaving Paige and her first period English teacher standing alone. 

"I will make sure the principal handles that appropriately."

"No big deal."

"Very big deal." Ms. Montgomery said as she moved closer. "This school has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to language like that."

"I can handle anything that idiot throws my way."

Ms. Montgomery seemed to be holding back a smile as she observed Paige closely. "Maybe but what if there was another student who overheard those words and couldn't handle it?"

The logic made sense considering Paige's past issues. "I suppose."

"I heard what was going on before I stepped in. It was nice of you to try and defend Aria and her friends."

It seemed Ms. Montgomery had been in the courtyard long enough to hear the whole conversation, which instantly made Paige feel awful. What else had she had to endure hearing while walking the halls of Rosewood?

"They've all been through enough without having to deal with stupid gossip." Paige said avoiding any further discussion of the latest and most tragic development that had befallen the group. 

"All the girls would appreciate you standing up for them." It seemed, having punctuated certain words in her response, Ms. Montgomery had caught the unspoken piece of Paige's comment. 

"No big deal. I should get moving so I don't miss my next class."

"Of course. Thank you Paige."

"You're welcome, Ms. Montgomery."

As Paige walked away she caught her teacher smiling. It was possible the look was a correct assumption about Paige's feelings for Emily but it was easier to think it was more an acknowledgement of Paige’s recent growth. She had been a lonely, sad, isolated person for three years of high school but ever sense owning her confidence things had turned around. It was nice to think people had taken notice. 

...

Since the start of swim season Paige was getting to see Emily daily and it was always a highlight. So while mindlessly grabbing her books and cramming them from her locker to her bag, Paige calculated the time she would spend in her last class of the day before heading off to swim practice. Her distracted state meant she didn't notice as two of her classmates made a beeline for her locker. 

"We owe you a thank you." Spencer Hastings said as she and Aria Montgomery appeared seemingly from thin air. 

Quickly pulled from her thoughts Paige turned to the pair. This wasn't what she had wanted when she stepped in and tried to shut people up earlier in the school day. Being she wasn't in the mood for a gushing thank you Paige opted to play dumb. "You do?"

Aria leaned against the neighboring locker. "It's all over school. You told off some of the jocks after they started in about the disappearance of Alison's remains."

"No big deal. They were mouthing off and I was sick of listening to it. Don't read too much into it."

"Of course not." Aria added in a tone that left little doubt she was Ms. Montgomery's daughter. "We were going to hang out tonight at my place and thought you might be interested in joining."

"I don't know."

"Emily will be dropping by after work." Spencer casually interjected in a way that sounded like she was dangling the information like it was a carrot. 

"We're friends. That's all." Paige blurted out too quickly.

Aria shifted her bag from one arm to the other and smiled. "And as we are also Emily's friends we want to get to know you."

"So seven o'clock and we aren't taking no for an answer." Spencer demanded before the pair continued down the hall.

Paige wanted to go. The idea of getting to know Emily's friends and maybe making some of her own in the process was exciting but it could get complicated. Emily, who had been through enough in the past five months, didn't need to feel like Paige was trying to swoop in. There was a very fine line. 

...

"I'll see you tonight then?" Emily asked as she yanked the rest of her belongings from her gym locker. 

Having found herself avoiding any conversation with Emily the entire practice, Paige was caught off guard by the question. "Aria and Spencer didn't give me much of a choice." Paige said as she tossed her wet towel into the hamper.

"I like that they want to include you. They're my friends and you're my friend."

"Okay, I'll go." The response was meant to keep things casual when in truth Paige was having a hard time keeping her excitement over the fact she would be spending time with Emily in check. 

"Good."

Emily smiled in that way that made Paige's heart melt and so eyes quickly counted tiles on the locker room floor. "Good."

"I've got to get going. My manager at the coffee shop gets very cranky if I'm late. Today he's teaching me the difference between a latte and some Australian drink his sister likes called a flat white. From what he described they sound the same but who am I to argue. See you tonight at Aria's."

As she left, Emily touched Paige's shoulder in a friendly way. The contact was quick but the feeling of it lingered. As Paige began packing up her stuff the effect on her from the contact was obvious and hard to ignore but it was imperative that Paige table all her romantic feelings for Emily Fields. 

Emily was in no condition to try again after the recent murder of her girlfriend Maya. Having at first only disappeared the poor girl's body was later discovered the night of the town's spring masquerade ball. The death had shook Emily to her core and sent her out of town for the summer to get distance from what happened. Paige supposed even half way across the world Emily wasn't able to escape her mourning but could see how the idea of leaving might have helped some. 

For Paige's sake it was probably best Emily had been away. The alternative would have been Paige avoiding Emily or trying to console her friend and neither would have been wise or very successful. 

Upon Emily's return she had been understandably different. Very few people probably noticed but Paige had immediately recognized the uncharacteristic melancholy in Emily since the school year began. It didn't help that with the trial of Alison's killer about to begin, and little tangible evidence to help capture who had murdered Maya, the press was having a field day covering anything having to do with Rosewood's murder rate. There wasn't a day that went by where Paige didn't see a picture of Maya somewhere in the paper and if Paige was seeing it she bet so was Emily. 

With everything going on Paige just needed to keep reminding herself she was only Emily’s friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Monday Night

After an hour debating, Paige settled on a pair of nice jeans and a t-shirt she had gotten at a concert over the summer. She completed the look with a jacket that was probably too heavy for the fall weather in Rosewood but it looked good on her. She was desperately trying to look casual while still looking great. Emily was going to be there, no point in looking messy. The problem was she was now running late. Luckily, Aria's place wasn’t too far away.

The ride over on her bike had been quick, thanks to the number of things that swam in Paige's mind. She was about to spend time with Emily's inner circle and although Paige had her opinions on each of them separately she had never observed them together except from a distance. The thought was intimidating but oddly intriguing. 

Having had little experience hanging out with a bunch of girls this was bound to be quite the evening. Of course Paige had hung out with her swim team but those gatherings centered on things related to their sport. Tonight was hanging out with a group of girls who were seemingly very different and that left Paige wondering what she could possibly bring to the evening’s conversations. At the very least they had school in common so she hoped that would dominate the chatter. 

Paige only hoped none of it center around playing matchmaker with her and Emily. A promise had been made to remain Emily's friend and Paige wasn't about to overstep. Emily needed friends way more than she needed to feel pressure to get romantically involved with someone so soon after Maya's death. If Paige was lucky some day they would be more than friends but she was very well aware now was not the time.

Walking the bike up and then ringing the bell, the front door almost instantly swung open. Paige was quickly overwhelmed with the sound of loud music, the smell of pizza, and the piercing blue eyes of Hanna Marin. 

"It's about time. Spencer was about to hunt you down."

"Sorry I'm a little late. I lost track of time while trying to figure out what to wear." The moment the words escaped her mouth Paige wanted them back. Hanna wasn't saying anything but her gigantic smile spoke volumes. Paige had taken time getting ready and Hanna was making it very known she knew what that meant. Emily was going to be there, no point in looking messy. 

"Get in here you two." Aria Montgomery yelled from inside. 

Propping the bike against a bench on the porch Paige followed Hanna into the Montgomery home. The entrance way was warm and inviting and decorated with all kinds of art. It seemed to fit with how Paige saw Aria and her mother. While passing a few of the things hanging, Paige made a mental note to come back into the hallway later and really take some time to look at them.

"I heard what you did today. It was really nice of you." Hanna said over her shoulder.

"I was sick of listening to them run their mouths."

"Not many people at school have stuck up for us since Alison death."

"That's because most people at that school are so hung up on high school hierarchy they don't know what kindness is."

Hanna stopped and turned. "It's more like when Alison was alive she was terrible to people so no one dared cross her. After she died anyone Alison considered a friend was now fair game. It's payback for what she did and so by default what we did."

Paige nodded at the logic. "People suck."

"I couldn't agree more." Spencer interjected from her place curled up on a sofa in the living room. 

The living room space was a continuation of a theme. It seemed mismatched but still, somehow, perfectly coordinated. Where the hallway was filled with framed art, some that looked professional and other pieces that looked like the handy work of the Montgomery children, this room was exactly the same. The furniture was equally all over the map and yet the whole thing worked. Paige found herself comparing it to Emily and her friends and how they oddly, but perfectly, fit with one another. 

Aria's parents were divorced and that showed as well. Gone was any sign of masculine accents or clutter. The room had a nurturing, feminine quality to it but as nurturing as the space was tonight it also had a scary feel to it. Paige was about to be joining Emily's friends on what she imagined was their turf. 

"Can I bring you something?" Aria yelled from another room as Hanna plopped down next to Spencer on the sofa after having turned down the music. 

"I'm fine." Slowly taking a seat in an empty chair Paige began to feel like she was about to face some kind of third degree. Checking her watch she wondered how long until Emily would be showing up. 

* * * 

"Yeah, the team seems solid. I think we could make it to the state finals pretty easily." Paige answered.

"Emily really turned down the captain position, huh?" Hanna said as she nibbled on the one slice of pizza she put on her plate. 

The shift in conversation was abrupt and not the least bit comforting. They had talked about summer break, the start of the school year, the teachers they were all enduring and so it was only a matter of time before the focus would turn to Emily. Paige had just hoped Emily would have been there by the time it happened.

"Hanna." Spencer scolded.

"What?"

"We talked about this." Aria added from her spot on the floor. Her wide eyes, complete with eyebrow raise, didn't go unnoticed. 

Being not very fond of conflict and knowing this was coming Paige decided to face the music. What she would have to add was nothing the others hadn't thought themselves and maybe it would allow the conversation to end as quickly as it began. "Emily's still the fastest we have on the team but no one blames her for only wanting to focus on her own time in the pool. The captain position comes with other duties."

Spencer stood and moved to re-fill her glass. "It's good to hear her teammates support her."

"Everyone understands that with what happened she needs time. She’s going through something that is more than anyone should ever have to deal with." Certainly the comment had duel meaning but Paige realized she didn’t much care. Emily’s friends had to know Paige was very sensitive to the recent tragedy and were probably just as aware of her feelings.

"Well, we're glad to hear the pair of you are spending lots of time together. It's nice of you to give up your evenings to help Em train more." Aria said with a smile. 

The comment caught Paige completely off guard, as she hadn't been spending any time with Emily outside of practice. What was Aria talking about? And what reason could Emily have to make it sound like they were hanging out together?

Spencer returned to her seat on the sofa. "Focusing on her conditioning has to be helping her through some of the grief that seems to be lingering. I know when I'm going through stuff I throw myself into my studies."

"And I shop." Hanna said as she nibbled again on her pizza. 

"I suppose everyone has their ways of coping." Paige carefully added not wanting to address the information the other three were presenting to her. Glancing at her watch Paige wondered what was taking Emily so long. It was much later than the time the girls had thought she would be arriving. 

"But she's doing better, right?" Hanna asked with a wonderfully innocent protective tone that Paige wasn't surprised to hear. 

She was now walking a fine line. "Each day must get a little bit easier. She's smiling more often. Honestly though, Emily doesn't share much with me." The response wasn't exactly a lie as much as it was avoiding the entire truth. Other than casual chatting before and during practice, there wasn't much in the way of conversation and none of what they talked about was personal in nature. 

Spencer seemed to be looking at Paige a little too intensely. It was like she could actually see that what they thought to be true wasn’t. "We only want Emily to be happy." 

"That's all I want." Paige replied quickly and honestly. 

Aria jumped in and rescued the conversation. "Enough making Paige feel put on the spot. Let's change the subject."

"To what? Where the heck is Emily?" Hanna added sounding concerned.

"Not helping Hanna." Spencer mumbled under her breath. 

Had Paige been feeling a little more comfortable around everyone she might have laughed. Glancing at her watch again Paige couldn’t help but share Hanna’s worry. It was getting very late. 

...

The pizza had been long finished and they had nearly exhausted every topic of conversation. During a lull, oddly, all three of the girl’s phones buzzed indicating a text. Like any modern conditioned teenager, they all grabbed them to check. Paige couldn't help but notice how the mood shifted nor could she avoid the looks that were being exchanged. When, as if on cue, the doorbell rang Paige jump a little in her seat.

Aria moved quickly and excused herself to answer it. Hanna and Spencer continued exchanging looks that made Paige feel like she was missing something big. She immediately worried the text was about Emily. 

Paige’s fears were allayed when after a short time Aria came in followed by Emily. The sight of her immediately lit up the room but after the romantic flutter died down Paige realized something was off. Aria was glancing at her friends with worry on her face. 

It didn't take long for all of them to realize why, as Emily tripped over nothing as she moved further inside. The brunette was playing it smooth but it was clear she had been drinking and quite heavily. 

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Things got busy." Emily slurred.

Hanna jumped in with what everyone else was thinking. "More like you got drunkie."

"I had a little."

Spencer gave up her seat on the sofa as Aria carefully guided Emily over. Sitting her down Aria then exchanged another glance with Spencer who looked in Paige's direction. "Help me grab Em some water and an aspirin?"

"Um, sure." 

"Paige." Emily purred. "You came. Sorry, I'm late."

"It's okay."

"Hope everyone was nice."

"Everyone was great."

Following Spencer out of the room Paige wished Maya was still alive so she didn't have to see Emily in so much pain.

...

When she was certain they were far enough away from the group, Paige finally got the courage to speak. "It's none of business but is this now usual with her?"

Spencer moved to a cupboard and pulled out a mug. "As far as I know it hasn't happened since school started but when it does it's usually accented with anger or tears. This bubbly thing is new."

"Should we be worried?" The question sounded incredibly protective but under the circumstances she didn't care what Spencer would imply from the tone. From their carefully worded question throughout the evening they had to know Paige was in love with Emily. 

"I honestly don't know."

"If there is ever anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask."

Moving to the faucet, Spencer filled the mug with water. "We were hoping you would say that."

"We?"

"The three of us have seen how you look at her and we know bits and pieces of what happened last year but Emily's a little fragile at the moment."

Spencer Hastings was putting it all out on the table so Paige took the bait. "I'm well aware and it's why I've been very careful to keep my distance." The second the words escaped Paige wanted, for the second time that evening, to have a do over. 

Spencer stopped the water, turned, and stared. "You two haven't been spending extra time at the pool have you?"

Spencer's tone was gently confrontational, like that of a concerned friend. Paige was stuck. Tell a lie and lose any trust Spencer and her friends had developed during the evening and, more importantly, maybe lose the chance to help Emily. Tell the truth and risk Emily being angry. Looking Spencer straight in the eye Paige opted for the truth. Lies only seemed to hurt worse in the end. "No."

"Why would you say you had?"

"Actually, I didn't say either way. I only said she wasn't sharing with me."

"Semantics." Spencer Hastings and her brainiac vocabulary. 

"I thought Emily must have had her reasons and I didn't want to betray her."

"It's not like she asked you to lie for her."

"No, that's true. I promised to be her friend though and I didn't see the harm in letting you all think what she was saying was true."

Spencer placed the mug on the counter and deliberately turned in Paige’s direction. "Now you see the harm?"

"Yes."

"And as you can see, she needs help, from all her friends."

Spencer was making a lot of sense. Paige recalled when she was going through the issues with her sexuality she had wished there had been a handful of people on her side supporting her. Emily was lucky to have these girls in her corner and Paige wanted to be among them but to do so they had to be very careful. "So we don't spook her and we let her think you guys are believing her."

"Lies are bad news with the four of us." Spencer’s comment had not an ounce of humor in it; in fact Paige could have sworn it sounded like fear. 

"Spencer, if you're saying there is reason to worry I trust you but if we don't proceed carefully Emily will pull away from all of us."

"You know her well." 

Paige nodded. "I like to think I do."

Spencer nodded and in that moment Paige realized that Spencer Hastings thought her worthy of helping. 

"So you three keep doing what you've been doing. I'll inquire about what you asked me tonight and we will see if she'll open up."

"I hope it's as easy as that." Spencer said as she swiped the aspirin bottle from another cupboard, grabbed the mug of water, and started back towards the living room.

As they entered the room they saw Aria watching Emily with a look of worry on her face. Hanna, on the other hand, had Emily lying in her lap and was stroking her hair while Em rambled. "It was nice of Nate to take me there to see it."

Both Spencer and Paige turned to one another at the same time. Paige mouthed back the name, questioning the identity of this Nate person; Spencer silently indicated they would talk later. 

...

Thankfully, Aria's mom was still out on a date when the evening came to an end. Paige helped Hanna and Aria get Emily into the backseat of Spencer's car without much difficulty. Although the swimmer had sobered up some it was decided Spencer would drop both Emily and Hanna to the Marin house where Emily would spend the night just in case she needed anything. Apparently of all the parents it would be easiest to sneak a slightly tipsy Emily past Hanna's mom. 

The end of the evening hadn't been without an awkward conclusion. As Paige had gently gotten Emily into the backseat of the car Emily had planted a chaste but lingering kiss on Paige's cheek. The warmth of that kiss had stayed with Paige the entire bike ride home and was now keeping her awake in bed. 

Picking up her phone from her nightstand the display read 1:49am. It also indicated she had a message, which must have come in, unnoticed, while riding home. Triggering her voice mail Paige immediately recognized the caller.

"Hey Paige, it's Spencer. We got Emily tucked in without a problem. Thanks for everything tonight. Let's try to talk tomorrow if we can manage it. There is probably more you should know before you have that talk with Emily."

After adding Spencer's number to her contacts Paige went ahead and deleted the message from her phone. It seemed a little paranoid but she figured it was best to erase it, that way, if Emily somehow found it, she wouldn't misunderstand. 

As it was too late to call Spencer back Paige put her phone back on the nightstand and she rolled over, closing her eyes. As she drifted off to sleep her thoughts lingered on Emily and her phone silently vibrated just once on her nightstand. 

Poor Paige, you can't always get what you want. - A


	3. Chapter 3

Tuesday

Having over slept, Paige was scrambling to get ready for school. It had been lucky that she didn't have any homework to worry about cause her normal morning routine of waking up early and finishing it during breakfast was shot. Also shot was her morning run. With minutes ticking away she barely had enough time to shower, dress, and grab a piece of fruit on her way out the door. 

After opening the garage she walked her bike out and trigger the keypad to close the door behind her. Placing her bag at her feet she tossed her chain lock in with her books. Climbing on her bike, Paige pulled her cell from her jean’s pocket to check to see how fast she needed to pedal to get there before the first bell. It seemed she had some time and she had a text from a blocked number.

Poor Paige, you can't always get what you want. - A

The text message creeped Paige out. There had been rumblings around school that part of what led Mona to being committed was that she had been blackmailing and harassing a variety of Rosewood residents via text message using the moniker of A. It seemed a sick joke related to the death of Alison DiLaurentis but Paige supposed if Mona had really lost her grip on reality something like that was a sure sign of a mental break. From what Paige had heard, Mona’s best friend Hanna and the other three girls were some of the most tormented but Paige hadn’t gotten up the courage to ask them if the rumors were true during the previous evening’s hanging out.

With Mona in a sanitarium it wasn’t likely she was the person behind the message on Paige’s phone. It was also hard to believe that the obvious implication of the message, being related to Paige’s feelings for Emily, would be easy for just anyone to try and bully her by referencing. 

Perhaps it wasn’t as specific as Paige was thinking and merely the jock from the day before trying to spook her. She considered erasing the text, as she had done Spencer's voice mail, but something stopped her. If it was the basketball player it might be worth it to hang on to the message incase the harassment continued. If it escalated there would be no way to bring it to the school’s attention without evidence. So Paige shoved her phone back into the pocket of her jeans, plucked her backpack from the driveway and tossed it on her back. If she hurried she would make it just in time for first period. 

...

It was half way through Paige's free period, which she had been using to get ahead on her English assignment, that she caught sight of Hanna making her way towards where she was sitting. The blonde seemed to have gotten about as much sleep as Paige had gotten. Despite the perfectly matched outfit, flawless make-up, and big smile Hanna's eyes were drooping. As the blonde approached Paige closed the book she was reading. 

"Hi." Hanna said as she took a seat on the opposite bench.

"Hi. Hope you don't mind me saying, you look exhausted."

Hanna tossed her books on the table in front of herself. “Emily being how she was, I was too worried about things to get much sleep."

"You're worried she could get out of control?" The thought had certainly crossed Paige’s mind after what they had all witnessed the night before from a normally even-keeled Emily. 

"Aren’t you?"

Paige nodded sadly. "Maya's death hit her hard she's allowed some acting out but yeah, this isn’t like her.”

“No, it was more how I would imagine Maya would act if, god forbid, the situation had been reversed.”

Even the slightest thought of what Hanna was saying sent a chill through Paige. It was time to quickly change the subject. “How are you managing to hold it together? You lost a friend as well."

"Mona is totally different she’s alive.” Hanna paused for a second and seemed to be considering something. “But the Mona I knew is gone. I guess I see your point."

“So she’s not herself?” Paige said thinking about the text she had gotten during the night.

“No. I’ve managed a few visits but she’s locked up and normally catatonic.”

In Paige’s book that officially crossed Mona off the list of people behind the text. "I'm sorry about everything that happened. I kept wanting to say something to you when I saw you around town this summer but..."

"It's hard to come up with a way to nicely say 'I'm sorry one of your closest friends is nuts?’. I get it. And thanks."

Paige could add blunt to Hanna’s list of qualities. "You’re welcome."

"Anyway, Aria and Spence are hanging with Emily so I could come find you."

"What for?"

"Spence said she owed you an answer on who Nate was and wanted you to know before you saw Emily at practice this afternoon. He's Maya cousin."

Showing up drunk after a night out with this Nate guy, who just happened to be related to Maya, there was now no doubt the lies were related to Emily’s attempt to deal, or not deal, with the tragedy. “So they've been hanging out."

"A little bit. Or maybe more than a bit after hearing she’s not been hanging out with you."

"You guys think when she said she was with me she was really with him?"

Hanna looked worried, really worried. "If not him, where else would she be going?”

Paige hoped Emily would be able to shed some honest light on the situation when they finally talked. "If she's spending time with Maya's cousin why lie about that to her best friends?" 

"Exactly especially when she knows lies and the four of us don't mix."

It was essentially the same thing Spencer had said the previous night, only Hanna sounded even more spooked. What was it with these four?

"If it were something simple she would have just told us. We tell each other everything but now I’m not so sure. What if Emily only seems to be getting better but is actually with this guy getting drunk all the time? What if that’s how she coping?” 

"Not exactly the best medicine for what she's been going through." Paige agreed.

"No and the fact she would be keeping her time with him a secret, the only other time she did that was with you." Hanna blurted out. "Sorry, it was just an example. I get why that happened. I really do."

Hanna Marin was adorable when she was flustered. Paige couldn’t ever imagine herself angry with someone so inherently good hearted. "It's okay. It was a good example. Tell the others I will see what I can find out. We all want the same thing."

"For Emily to be okay."

Paige noticed a small tear falling from Hanna's eye. Without giving it a second thought Paige reached across the table and laid a hand on top of Hanna's. "We'll figure this out. I promise."

"Thanks Paige."

"You're welcome." As Paige took her hand back she noticed Caleb cutting through the courtyard and waved in his direction.

Hanna turned and instantly looked away again. Caleb nodded, smiled weakly and kept on walking. Had there been something else that didn’t come up during the previous night’s chat? “Are you two fighting?”

“Not anymore. Caleb ended things.”

“I’m sorry Hanna.”

“It goes with the territory.”

Something about the comment didn’t line up with what they had been discussing and sounded very ominous. Paige had enough on her plate now and figured it was also better not to push since Hanna was already emotional over whatever was going on with Emily. 

...

Usually swim practice for Paige was about equal parts time in the pool and seeing Emily. Today it was all about getting time with Emily. While in the locker room Coach ran through what was on the day’s agenda but none of what she said was registering. Instead Paige was trying to figure out why Emily would have lied. 

With the business stuff out of the way the team began to move out of the locker room to the pool. The movement from the rest of the girls brought Paige back from her thoughts just in time to pull Emily aside. "I know we need to get out there but can we talk for a second?"

"Sure. Look about last night, I'm sorry. I had one too many and lost track of time."

"It's okay. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay."

“I'm fine." Emily said brushing off the concern and starting to move towards the direction of the pool. 

"Listen before you go, last night your friends brought up our extra practice time together."

Worry crossed Emily's face. "What did you tell them?"

"That I was happy to help out." Paige felt terrible lying to Emily but it was clear something was going on and this seemed the best way to find out what that was.

"Thank you." From the relief that appeared on Emily's face, Paige was certain Spencer and the other girls were onto something. 

"No need to thank me for covering. Just promise me whatever is going on you’re okay and if you need to talk about it that you'll come to me."

"Paige! Emily! Pool! Now!" Their coach yelled from the doorway. 

"Sorry. We're coming." Emily replied apologetically. "We better get out there. I promise we'll talk about this later."

"Okay." Paige agreed but worried Emily wouldn't keep her promise. 

...

Practice had gone very well for Paige. Maybe it was the frustration over Emily's lie or the fact Paige, having not really slept, was swimming on adrenaline but she managed to beat her best by almost two seconds. Emily, on the other hand, was either thinking too much or still suffering from the previous evening's excess, as her times were terrible. 

Thankfully the coach was still cutting Emily slack so there was no fallout from the bad performance. Paige just hoped as the season ramped up Emily's impressive speed in the pool returned. Recruiters would be watching carefully and to falter now would be devastating to her friend's college prospects. 

Not wanting to miss the chance to let Emily explain, Paige got showered and changed as fast as possible. When Paige got to her gym locker she was surprised to find Emily waiting on a bench for her just in front of the locker. As it turned out Emily had gotten ready even faster but, thankfully, had stuck around. Maybe Emily wasn’t as far gone as her friend’s feared.

"I don't work tonight. Do you want to go somewhere and talk?"

"Yes." Paige said as she pulled her bag out and threw it over her shoulder. Emily stood and the two silently left the locker room and back into the school hallways. Being it was after-hours the place was pretty empty but despite the privacy of abandoned hallways neither of them spoke until they reached the outside.

"Is the coffee shop okay?" Emily asked.

"It’s your day off. We don't have to go where you work."

"I don’t mind. After all, it is the best coffee in town.”

“If that’s where you want to go I’m fine with it.”

Emily pointed towards the parking lot. “My cars just over there."

Paige wanted very much to drive over with Emily but remembered she had her bike to contend with and the school didn't like when students left them over night. She supposed she could have just had Emily drop her back to get it but Paige decided it was better to just grab it now. "I rode today. Can I meet you over there?"

"Sure."

"I'll see you shortly."

"Great."

As the pair parted Paige moved to where her bike was chained up. She was proud of herself for only managing to turn back one time to watch Emily go to her car. Unfortunately, Emily caught the look back but fortunately her reaction was a bright smile and a wave. Every time Paige saw that smile her heart swelled.


	4. Chapter 4

After a quick stop at her house to drop off her bag Paige sped over to the coffee shop. The moment she arrived she caught sight of Emily on one of the sofas speaking to a handsome, dark-skinned, guy that Paige could only assume was Nate. Having not too proudly made a habit of watching Emily with Maya, Paige was surprised to see very little family resemble between Maya and her cousin. Where she had been tiny and rebellious looking, he looked like an advertisement for the college young professions association. 

As Paige watched the pair she found jealousy sparking. It was foolish considering Emily was very gay but from the looks of things Nate hadn't gotten the message. As he sat next to Emily, with his arm up and over the two-seater sofa, his demeanor evoked a kind of intimacy. Paige supposed shared grief was an instant bound between two people but Paige knew she was recognizing in him an energy that she knew all to well where Emily was concerned. When mixed with the realization that Emily was getting drunk with this guy; Paige instantly didn’t like him.

Whipping out her phone Paige opened an application. She had downloaded it for fun while at a swim team gathering. It allowed her to snap photos while looking like she was on a call. Standing very still while pretending to glance over the coffee menu Paige tried to capture what was happening on the sofa. She assumed from the way Emily seemed to be hiding Nate from the others that they had yet to get a look at him. If this was him, they would at least have a face to go with the name. 

After a suitable time pretending, Paige turned off the app and ordered herself a drink. While waiting for the coffee she quickly sent a text along with a photo to Spencer. The text simply read, 'Nate?'. To avoid a text back while chatting with Emily, Paige turned her phone completely off. 

When the coffee arrived Paige went over to the side counter, added some milk, and took a moment to compose herself. The last thing she wanted to do was approach the pair with an air of distrust. This guy was someone Emily considered a friend and Paige needed to respect that in order to be able to offer her help. While turning back to head to the sofa it dawned on Paige that Emily had yet to realize she was even in the cafe.

Coffee in hand, Paige casually approached. "Hey Emily."

"Paige. There you are."

"Sorry I stopped at home to dump my bag. Hi, I’m Paige." Putting her hand out and keeping her tone as friendly as possible only managed to evoke a look from the guy that made Paige instantly glad her first impression had been that of not trusting him. 

Shaking her hand in a contest of strength, he smiled smugly. "Nate. I'm Maya's cousin." 

Yep, his little private display of dominance had sealed the deal for Paige. She was certain he wanted to be more than Emily's friend. The competitive side of Paige wanted so badly to give him back the same subtle attitude he had thrown at her but she opted, for Emily’s sake, to continue playing the ‘kind card’. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. I’ll leave you two to your chat. Emily, I'll see what Maya's parents have to say."

"Thanks." Emily replied with eyes that had a degree of guilt in them. 

As much as she didn’t really like this guy Paige hoped she hadn’t interrupted something Emily found important.

"Nice meeting you." Nate offered but Paige hardly believed. 

As he made his way out of the coffee shop Emily seemed to relax as the awkwardness Paige had been detecting dissipated almost instantly.

"Sorry if I interrupted something."

"It's fine. I told him I was waiting for you."

"Still. He ran out of here pretty quick."

"He had some stuff he had to do for school."

Taking a seat in a chair next to the two-seater Emily was sitting in, Paige prepared herself to be supportive while avoiding anything that would make her look like a jealous ex. "It’s nice you two have one another considering what you’re both going through.”

"It's not the same as having said good-bye to Maya but it's nice having someone around who knew her well. Not even my friends can really say that."

"I didn't realize she wasn’t close with the others."

"Maya wasn't much of a people person." Emily said sadly.

"If you don't want to talk about it I would understand."

"After involving you that wouldn't be fair.”

Paige drank her coffee and took a second to get up a little courage. "Can I ask something then?"

"Of course."

“Is it Nate you’ve been spending time with?”

It was Emily’s turn to take a second to answer. “Yes.”

"Why not just go to your friends and tell them the truth? They would understand, probably better than anyone, what you’ve been going through."

"Ever since Maya's death, and then Mona being committed, the four of us have had a lot going on and as much as they would want to support me I think they would only manage to worry about me more.”

“What’s to worry about?”

“Nothing.” Emily’s phone buzzed and just like the previous night with the others she glanced at it instantly. 

“Something important?”

Emily shook her head. “My mom just checking in.”

The spell broken the two took some time enjoying their coffee in silence until Paige finally couldn’t take it. "So why me? Why does hanging out with me spare you their concern?" Paige instantly felt stupid for asking. The reason was obvious. She could have left Emily to answer but instead figured why not see her reaction. "Oh, wait. It's because I represent to them a sign you’re moving on, which is the real reason they invited me over. They wanted to show you they were happy you’re getting past losing Maya."

As Paige laid out her theory, Emily rather quickly began to stare at her hands, which were in her lap. "I'm sorry. At first I just needed a little privacy to work out a few things and then when they reacted so well to it I didn’t discourage them which wasn’t fair to you.”

"You had your reasons." The sting of Emily letting her friends think they were developing a relationship was rough but at least Paige knew she qualified as someone who, if Emily were ever ready to date, her friends would accept. 

"Maybe but it still wasn’t very fair of me."

"Emily, your girlfriend was murdered. You are allowed a chance to mourn." 

The comment was perhaps too blunt as Emily shifted in her seat. "Can we get out of here?"

"I’m sorry that was," Paige’s words trailed off.

“Don’t apologize. I just want to get out of here. Get some air.”

“Sure.”

The pair swapped their mugs for paper cups and headed out of the cafe. As they started to walk along the streets of downtown Rosewood the sky went from daylight to dusk. If it wasn't a conversation focused around Emily opening up about Maya's death it might have been mildly romantic. 

For many blocks they each drank their coffees but said nothing. Paige figured she had to let Emily steer the conversation. As she waited for it to begin Paige wondered how much she would actually reveal to Emily's friends. Having done what they asked Paige wasn't entirely sure they needed to know every last thing Emily was hopefully going to open up about. These were Emily’s emotions to share with the others.

"The last time we saw each other we fought." The words came out of thin air and Emily somehow managed them without an ounce of emotion in her voice. 

Paige had known that detail. Emily had revealed as much one night when Paige had run into a very upset Emily soon after it was believed Maya skipped town. As it turned our Paige’s ex wasn't the only one who felt guilty about the last thing she had said regarding Maya St. Germain. During the conversation Paige had branded Maya a person Emily couldn't count on. Of course, as it turned out, Maya might not have bolted after all. It was possible she was already dead. “I know but you can’t dwell on it.”

“I can’t seem to help it.”

Turning the corner by the specialty grocer Paige waited for Emily to continue talking. Instead she let out a frustrated sigh. From who was coming towards them Paige understood why. It was well known there was no love lost between Emily and Jenna Marshall.

A fellow senior at Rosewood, Jenna Marshall’s was the girl every boy wanted to date and every girl wanted to be. An accident involving a fire resulted in Jenna being blinded for most of her high school career. After the accident that took her sight, Jenna had an uncanny power to control any situation with calculated manipulation of teachers and fellow students. Over the summer her sight had been restored and from the second she was cured her status at school had skyrocketed. 

Paige never had any run-ins with Jenna, which she was grateful for since there was something about her that had always bordered on scary. Even while blind, Paige always felt like Jenna was still able to watch everything going on around her. 

“Well, who do we have here? Are you ladies enjoying the nice fall evening?”

Paige forced herself to smile the same as she had with Nate earlier. “It’s such a nice night. We thought a walk would do us both some good.”

Emily smiled but stayed quiet.

“It’s been nice to get reacquainted with this perfect time of day when the sun goes down. I especially love seeing the stars come out.”

“If you can manage it, you should sneak onto the Country Club some time. Best view of the stars in all of Rosewood.” Paige wasn’t sure where the suggestion came from but it made Jenna smile in a way that seemed genuine.

“Thank for the suggestion. You ladies have a nice evening. It was nice seeing you, Paige. Emily.” Jenna added an extra special sarcastic punch to Emily’s good-bye.

As their schoolmate left Paige could actually feel the tension. “You two don’t like each other much. Does she have an issue with Spencer dating her brother or something?”

“Half-brother and it’s bigger than that.” Emily said, her mood having gone completely sour. “Can we call it a night? I forget I have some stuff due this week that if I don’t start working on I’m not likely to finish in time.”

Paige tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. “Sure.”

…

After saying goodnight to Emily in front of the coffee shop Paige made her way over to the rack where her bicycle was still locked up. Freeing it from the rack, she retrieved her well-secured helmet from the chain and put it on her head. Without her bag she twisted the cable lock around the frame and snapped it back into place. Fighting off a yawn Paige figured it was probably a good thing she wasn’t making it a long night as she was starting to feel the effects of what little sleep she had the previous evening.

The streets of Rosewood were quiet with only a couple places still open. Paige just about had the roads to herself as she peddled through downtown. Stopping at the intersection in front of her parent’s favorite restaurant Paige noticed a car stopped heading in the other direction. Oddly, the car didn’t have any lights on. 

As the traffic light turned green Paige began to continue on as the car, on the other side, inched through the intersection at a very peculiar speed. If Paige didn’t know any better she would have sworn whoever was in the car was looking right at her as they passed one another. 

Picking up her pace Paige continued another block in the direction of The Grille when she heard an engine rev up and lights suddenly flooding the street from behind her. She looked back but was blinded by a car getting closer by the second. 

The cities beautification project had cluttered the curbs around town with planters and other decorative items making it almost impossible for Paige to do anything but go forward. Pedaling with every ounce of strength in her legs she tried to avoid the inevitable. 

It all happened in an instant. The back tire of her bicycle was rammed just hard enough to send Paige over the handlebars. As her body made it’s way to the pavement the car’s headlights immediately clicked off and the car swerved, avoiding hitting her as her body connected with the ground. As her head joined the rest of her and connected with the road she heard an engine rev away.


	5. Chapter 5

Paige was vaguely aware of a flurry of activity. Opening her eyes she couldn't make out the face of the person over her as the light coming from the lamppost made it hard to focus. It wasn't until she heard Mr. Fitz calling her name that she understood who it was trying to help. Attempting to sit up, Paige's head started to spin leaving her no choice but to lie back down. 

“Ezra,” Another familiar voice said. “The ambulance is on its way.”

Instantly able to identify the voice as that of Aria, Paige was less worried she had done any major damage to herself. It seemed as much as everything hurt she still had her wits about her. Lying in the middle of downtown with a mangled bike and a throbbing headache was not only uncomfortable but also embarrassing so Paige again tried to move. “Can you help me sit-up?”

“You probably shouldn’t until the paramedics get here.” Mr. Fitz said from his protective post by her side. He was carefully removing her bicycle helmet with one hand while keeping her head steady with the other one. "Just lie still."

Aria was perched next to him with one hand on his knee. “Ezra’s right. Just hang in there. They're on their way.” The contact was more familiar than it should have been between the student and former teacher. 

Although Paige should have been more focused on why someone would want to run her off the road her attention was instead drawn to the fact Aria had all but confirmed she and Mr. Fitz were a couple. Paige made a mental note to thank Aria later for the frivolous distraction. 

From out of nowhere a hand appeared in Paige’s field of vision holding a cloth, which Ezra quickly took and applied to her arm. The stinging, as it made contact with her broken skin, was instant. Managing to keep from crying out in pain, what Paige couldn’t stop were the tears. 

Ezra’s attempt to stop the bleeding and cleanup the wound was excruciating but Paige knew it was also necessary. From the location of where her body was throbbing she knew her favorite jacket was now shredded but even with all the bleeding from her collision with the pavement Paige was happy to note that no bones felt broken.

…

When the ambulance arrived on the scene the paramedics didn’t see anything that they were too alarmed by but they still wanted to take Paige in to get checked out. Everything hurt but she was pretty certain all her appendages were intact. She wanted to go home but there wasn't much point in arguing since Mr. Fitz insisted she do as the paramedics had instructed. 

Aria offered to come along in the rig while Ezra said he would drive over separately. Paige was grateful for their concern and for her former teacher's promise to call her parents to fill them in on what happened. He had even gotten help from a bystander to put her destroyed bicycle in the trunk of his car. Paige was going to have to get used to walking places because as she watched them pick it up off the ground she could see that the frame and back tire had no hope of being fixed. 

On the ride over in the back of the ambulance the only chatter was what echoed through the emergency radio. The EMT who was with her studiously conducted a battery of tests from blood pressure to eye-check. He also finished up what Ezra had started by cleaning up the bloody scrapes on her arm and chin. Not seeing any looks of fear or concern on the young guys face Paige assumed she was going to live. 

Where the paramedic looked calm Aria had looked terrified. Paige had overheard Aria speaking to one of the officers at the scene, telling him she had witnessed the entire thing from her vantage point inside the restaurant, and the experience had her shaken. Of what Paige heard, Aria's version sounded exactly like it felt; whomever was driving the car meant for the collision to happen. There was nothing accidental about this hit and run. 

Upon arrive at the hospital Paige was whisked into an emergency room. A nurse joined the paramedics as they moved her from their gurney to the exam table while Aria took a seat in a chair. The staff had obviously taken pity on Paige and agreed to let Aria wait with her until the doctor arrived. 

After disregarding the vitals taken by the paramedics and running a new set the nurse explained someone would be in soon to check on things. 

…

Looking over at a still very concerned Aria, Paige gave a weak smile. "Thank you."

"Shhh, you shouldn't be talking."

"I'm okay. It's just a little headache and a few scrapes and bruises."

"That headache could be a concussion." Aria armchair diagnosed. 

"I had my helmet on and my parents always tell me I have a hard head."

Aria returned the smile. 

"When you see Ezra..."

"You heard that huh?"

Paige nodded and left unsaid what was obvious. "When you see him please thank him for me."

Aria nodded and the smile grew wider. The glow coming off Aria made it obvious, that despite the vast age difference, she was in love with Mr. Fitz. "What happened?" 

It was a drastic shift in the conversation but Paige understood why. Now was not the time to lay out Aria’s relationship with someone at least five years older than her, especially someone who was once her teacher. "One second I was riding my bike home. The next second some weird car was barreling down on me with their high beams on."

"Start from the beginning."

...

Paige ran through everything that happened and just when she was done the doctor and one of the ER nurses came in to see her. Needing privacy for the exam Aria was asked to wait outside.

After a quick check it was decided it was best to run a couple scans to make sure there was no unforeseen issues. It had taken forever to take the scans but the actual running of them had been quick. From the time Paige finally got into the room to have them done to the time back down to the exam room was only about ten minutes. The other forty minutes was spent in the hallway on another floor waiting to get in and be scanned.

When she returned to the emergency room there was no sign of Aria. A nurse dropped in eventually to administer some pain medicine and explained Aria had stepped out to make a quick call and would be back soon. 

Paige assumed the doctors would want to review the scans before releasing her so needing something to do to kill time Paige retrieved her phone from her pants pocket. She was happy to see that somehow the fall hadn't damaged it. 

Her parents were first. They were out of town for the week for their anniversary trip so Paige knew a phone call from Ezra had to have panicked them. She would call them once she could do so without facing the wrath of the hospital staff but in the mean time she whipped off a quick text update on her vastly improving condition. Within seconds of hitting send her mother had texted back their desire to cut the trip short and come home. Paige insisted they do no such thing and that she was fine. Eventually in the back and forth they relented. 

Next came a text to Emily. It seemed Aria had called Emily and told her what happened but Emily’s mother wouldn’t let her leave the house to check on Paige. It was probably for the best. Feeling like hell and looking even worse Paige didn't need Emily to see her all mangled or loopy on pain pills. She assured Emily that everything was fine and they would talk tomorrow. 

The oldest text waiting for Paige was one from Spencer wanting more information about Nate, which was followed by one asking if she was all right. Aria had been a busy girl since Paige had been admitted. Sending a quick message that she was okay and that she would give Spencer what little information she knew in the morning, Paige then went to put her phone away when an alert caught her attention. Perhaps it was Emily again. Glancing at the phone Paige was gravely disappointed. 

Like a break-up, it’s always best to cushion a fall - A

The mystery messages were getting out of hand. Paige was in the emergency room but someone was still playing games. It was all starting to get more than simply annoying. 

"Everything okay?" Aria said as she entered the exam area. 

Paige nearly jumped out of her skin. "I'm fine." she replied rather unconvincingly. 

"You don't seem fine. What's going on? Did the doctor find something on the scan?" 

"No. You just startled me." 

Aria wasn’t convinced. "There's more to it than me simply catching you off guard. What gives?"

"A stupid blocked text from someone getting off on my misfortune."

Aria moved next to the exam table looking very worried. “Blocked texted?"

"Yep. Must be someone at school who heard about Mona's antics and thought it would be fun to play copycat."

"Why do you say that?"

"They have all been signed A." Paige explained, unable to keep her frustration in check.

"They? You’ve gotten these before?”

Paige really hadn't thought the messages as any big deal but from the look on Aria's face, Paige wondered if she should reconsider. “I got one this morning or I guess it was late last night but Mona's locked up. It's nothing."

"What did they say?"

Paige shrugged and handed over her phone to Aria who read it. From the look on her face something was very wrong. "Are you four still getting texts even with Mona locked up?"

Aria looked like she got caught sneaking into her house after curfew but eventually relented. "Yes."

“From whom?”

"Ms. McCullers," a nurse said as she entered and handed over some paperwork. "You are all set. The doctor reviewed the scans and they're clear. He has written you a prescription for the pain. Although there isn't any sign of concussion he would rather be safe than sorry so wake up every hour tonight as a precaution. Also, no swim practice for at least two weeks. Is there someone who can get you home?"

Paige took the papers offered her but before she could answer Aria spoke up. 

"My mom is here waiting for us."

"Wonderful. Well, you are all set." And with that the nurse was gone. 

"Aria, I can't put you guys out."

"Nonsense. When my mom found out your parents are out of town, she insisted. She's been waiting out front for us. Emily tried to come to but her mom wouldn't let her."

It was sweet of Aria to interject the news Paige already had about Emily. It was also very sweet of Aria and her mom to offer to look out for her overnight. 

Hopping off the exam table and picking up her jacket, which was destroyed, Paige was glad to be leaving the hospital in one piece. She was also glad she might have a lead on who it was that was sending her the messages. If she wasn’t the only one getting them certainly the others had some insight into the culprit. Since they were getting them Paige ventured to guess the reason was bigger than a run in with a basketball player in the school’s courtyard.

...

Paige took in the space as she was ushered into the modest bedroom on the second floor of the Montgomery two-story townhouse. Where the downstairs was decorated with artistic, organized, chaos, the bedroom was very simple and understated. Paige wondered if Aria’s mom couldn’t yet bring herself to do something with the space after her marriage broke up. “It's very nice of you Ms. Montgomery but I can't kick you out of your bed." 

"Nonsense. Mike has said that the pull out downstairs is very comfy and you need your rest in between wake ups."

Paige had forgotten the nurse's instruction to wake up every hour but was grateful Ms. Montgomery hadn’t forgotten. “Thank you for everything."

"I've thrown a t-shirt and some running shorts of mine in the bathroom for you to change into so that you can sleep comfortably. Everything you should need is in there so you can get cleaned up. I spoke to your mom and she gave me the okay to play school tomorrow by ear. We will see how you are doing.”

“I was hoping to finish chatting with Aria about something for school before bed.”

“It can wait. You need your rest. I check up on you in an hour."

As the door closed behind Ms. Montgomery, Paige fought off a yawn. Carefully stripping her clothes off and heading into the bathroom, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She looked terrible. Having not slept her eyes were heavy, her arm was all bandaged up, and her lower cheek had quite the abrasion from the way she had hit the pavement. This night was going to be one for the memory books.

...

Hot water and her open wounds did not mix well but Paige managed. Changing into the clothes Ms. Montgomery left her she headed back into the bedroom and climbed into the large, soft, bed. Immediately she felt her body sink into the mattress and pillows. 

Having been fighting the effects of the pain medicine the nurse had given her for a while now, Paige was beginning to lose the battle as her eyes started to droop. The only thing worth doing now was sleep. All the drama of the evening could wait until tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

Wednesday

As promised Ms. Montgomery had woken up every hour to check that Paige was doing okay. After the first couple times it was impossible to go back to sleep because just as Paige would hit that perfect moment when sleep was coming Aria's mom would wake her up again. It had been incredibly annoying and incredibly kind. When her parents got back Paige knew she would have to get their help finding a thank you gift. Ms. Montgomery had really gone above and beyond for someone who at best was only her daughter’s good acquaintance.

Despite the lack of sleep Paige had insisted on going into school but it was proving a struggle. Having gone not one, but two nights, with inconsistent sleep she nearly ended up snoring in biology class and had little retention of what was covered in economics. Her academics would be fine though; she could study the material that wasn’t sticking. Her real reasons for needing to make school the priority were more personal.

By diving back in Paige had hoped to keep talk about the accident to a minimum or at the very least get the chatter out of the way so it didn't linger for weeks. From the looks and the whispers she had overheard, the gossip about the accident was going full force. Even though no one had approached Paige directly the most popular rumors seemed to be that she was riding her bike drunk or that a crazy ex-girlfriend ran her down. The crazy ex rumor seemed to be ahead but Paige didn't much care. She would let them all talk and hopefully by the end of the week there would be some other high school scandal they could obsess over. 

By her mid-day free period Paige found herself debating between going to the nurse's office to take a nap and doing what she normally did when she didn't have a class. The nap was very tempting but Paige’s other reason for being in school was that she needed answers. Hoping she might run into Aria or the other girls, Paige grabbed lunch and set out to eat in the courtyard. 

Arriving with lunch in hand Paige immediately observed three of the four girls at a table with their heads together. Aria must have been in class but the others were looking very intense. What was it with them and all the secrecy? 

Moving towards them it was Hanna who caught sight of Paige first. The whispering among the group stopped as the blonde, seeing the approach, elbowed Emily in the ribs. This caused all of them to spin in Paige's direction just as she reached the table. 

With softness in her eyes, Spencer looked Paige over like she was studying for a test.

"You look good," Hanna offered with sympathy in her sweet voice. 

Where Spencer was taking things in from a grounded place Emily's eyes were bursting with overwhelming concern. "Are you okay?"

The sight of Emily’s reaction made Paige struggle to hold it together. She reminded herself it was nice to have all three girls concerned for her wellbeing. "I'm just tired."

“We’re glad you’re okay,” Spencer added with a very serious tone as she stood and scooping up her books took a couple steps from the table. "I have to get to class but if you need a ride home after school let me know."

Paige ignored the fact it was already half way through the current period and smiled. "Thanks. My parents are actually making me stay at Aria's until they get home so I guess I will ride home with her or her mom."

"Nothing like a perfectly good opportunity ruined. No adult supervision only to end up with it anyway." Hanna declared only to immediately seem to be intensely 'speaking' with Spencer with only her eyes. The back and forth between the two was comic and a curious example of what Paige assumed was an element of the group dynamic. "I should also get to class. I'll walk with you Spencer."

“We’ll see you later Emily,” Spencer added as the pair then disappeared.

Of course there was no class to get to, it was an obvious attempt to give Paige alone time with Emily. Paige nodded at the now empty bench. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Of course not."

“Thanks,” Paige said taking a seat at the table. Immediately trying to concentrate on her lunch so she wouldn't say anything foolish, Paige set about organizing her meal. "The tray was getting heavy." 

"Sorry about their exit." 

Emily wasn’t making it easy to ignore the more complicated elements of the situation. "Not exactly subtle," Paige offered with a laugh. 

Trying to open the cap on the bottle of ice tea Paige felt a sharp pain grab hold of her. She placed the bottle back on the tray and tried to breath through the pain. Although her injuries were minor, moving or exerting in certain ways had been proving difficult. Obviously sending her body slamming down on pavement had done a number on her arm and shoulder making the simple act of opening an ice tea beyond Paige’s abilities at the moment. 

Emily reached across the table and took the bottle from the tray. “Here.”

As Emily opened it, Paige set about unwrapping the sandwich she had gotten herself. At least that she could still manage to do without help.

"I'm really sorry for what happened to you," Emily offered as she handed back the open bottle.

"Emily, you have nothing to be sorry about. It's not like it was you behind the wheel."

"I just can't help but think it’s because of me."

"Why?"

"Tragedy tends to befall the people I care about." Emily’s words came out slow and deliberate. It was like she was carefully forming what she wanted to say one syllable at a time.

The weight of what was said loomed. It was true that Emily had faced a series of terrible losses in such a short time but in no way could she be to blame. What had happened was because of some person playing a horribly, stupid, dangerous, prank. “Don't even try and blame yourself for what happened."

"After Alison and Maya, I can't help but think..."

There it was, the elephant in the room. Paige felt awful that the hit and run was bringing back up everything in such a raw way for Emily. "I'm fine, which is what matters."

"Right."

Paige hated seeming Emily in pain. It was time to change the subject. "You realize this means you need to be extra amazing at the meet this weekend since I can't compete."

Paige looked shocked. "Wait, how long are you out for?"

"Doctor said a couple weeks."

"Damn. I'm so..."

"Don't. Okay?" Paige asked and then found she was reaching across the table and resting her hand on top of Emily's. The gesture was meant as innocent comfort but Paige suddenly got very self aware and considered removing her hand. 

As tears started to well in Emily's eyes she turned her hand just enough to link their fingers together. "I couldn't handle losing another person that..."

"I'm not going anywhere," Paige interrupted, in an attempt to try and reassure Emily of the situation. “If anything was really wrong I don’t think I would be sitting her eating a turkey sandwich and drinking an ice tea.”

Paige thought she caught Emily’s lips starting to form a smile but before things had a change to get anymore intimate, laughter from behind Paige broke the spell. It was Rob Polar. "Can't you lesbos spare the rest of us your drama?"

Certain he was responsible for what had happened Paige felt her whole body tense. As she tried to stand up and confront him Emily squeezed her hand tightly in a silent request to ignore the taunting. Wanting to throw him against a wall and get him to confess it was hard to remain still but Paige managed thanks to Emily's comforting contact. 

"If you don't like listening to our drama than go somewhere else." Emily suggested.

The basketball star shrugged, nodded at his two friends, and marched out of the courtyard.

Paige’s eyes stay transfixed on their departure. "I swear he will pay."

"What does that mean?" Emily asked with concern in her voice. 

Paige’s eyes stayed in the direction the threesome had gone. "He's the most likely suspect."

"The accident?"

"He got two weeks of detention for what he said to me,” Paige said as she turned her attention back to Emily. “The principal even threatened to bench him. He certainly has motive."

"Maybe." Emily’s tone tried to sound convincing but for some reason Paige wasn't buying it. She could have pushed the issue further but with their hands still linked Paige didn't really want to get to the bottom of things. She merely wanted to enjoy the contact for as long as possible. Whatever was going on with Emily and her friends and whatever answers they could provide to recent mysteries suddenly didn't matter.

As they sat silently Paige noticed Emily looking down at the contact they were making with one another.

“I’m sorry,” Paige offered as she went to move her hand back.

“Don’t. It’s nice.”

All Paige could do was smile and try not to read too much into what was going on between them. Emily had been through a ton of crap lately and it was important to respect her loss. Paige filed what was happening away as deep friendship no matter how much she could feel her heart racing in her chest. While trying not to give off too much excitement Paige glanced around and caught two things. 

The first thing she noticed was Jenna Marshall pretending to read a book while sitting on a bench that was against the far wall. Instead of absorbing whatever was in the heavy textbook in her hand the previously blind, mean girl was seemingly studying Paige and Emily instead. As Paige’s eyes locked with Jenna’s the tiny brunette didn’t blink. For a moment it was a staring contest until Paige couldn’t take it anymore and she looked away.

Setting her sights elsewhere, Paige caught Spencer watching from one of the entrances to the courtyard. She was watching the table, same as Jenna had been doing, but Spencer was smiling. At least she was until she noticed Paige had caught her and so she moved out of view. It had been nice of Spencer to orchestrate the alone time. Paige had to remember to thank her when she next saw her.


	7. Chapter 7

The bell marking the start of the next class period rang and begrudgingly Paige prepared herself to begin the rest of her school day. Of course she didn't let Emily notice the disappointment over the end of the shared lunch. Giving her a platonic hug good-bye as they parted she tried not to let it linger. 

Emily headed out towards her science class while Paige somehow got up the nerve to head towards where Jenna sat. The mean girl had spent the entire lunch period watching her and Emily interact and Paige was a little fed up with being under a microscope. Approaching slowly Paige took the time to figure out what she wanted to say. "Enjoying your free period," was all Paige could manage when she was within earshot. It was hardly as confrontational as she wanted but it got the ball rolling.

"Not as much as it seemed you were," the brunette replied without looking up from the book that she had been ignoring earlier while gawking in the direction of the table. 

"Do you make a habit of judging people?"

Jenna looked up slowly from what she was reading. Her piercing green eyes immediately grabbed Paige's attention. The brunette had worn sunglasses for so long Paige never had the opportunity to notice the color. They were striking. 

"Why do you assume I was judging?"

"Because most people around here do." Paige answered honestly. 

"Most people around here haven't had to live in darkness. Now that I have my sight back I like to take in everything. It's as simple as that." Jenna didn't flinch during her explanation leading Paige to believe she was actually being sincere.

"I guess I'm used to a much different reaction from people now that I'm being..."

"Gay." Jenna said, interrupting the thought. 

"I was going to say honest, but okay, sure, gay."

"I was merely taking in the courtyard; nothing more."

Jenna's explanation sounded legitimate so Paige decided to take her at her word. "Well, enjoy the rest of your book."

"Enjoy the rest of your day," and with that Jenna's eyes went back to what she was reading without another word. 

Paige hadn't been formally dismissed but she knew the conversation was over and to move on. Walking towards her art class Paige wondered what it must have been like for Jenna without one of her senses and how getting it back would make someone see things much differently than before. In some ways it reminded Paige of how the world felt easier to her after she finally told her parents about her sexuality. There were no more handicaps to the way she went through life and maybe that was how Jenna felt, free.

...

The rest of the day had been dull and Paige was exhausted. She wanted to go to sleep for a month but instead needed to get answers. Convincing Aria and her mom that she had some work to do after school and that she would be okay walking back to their house on her own hadn't been easy. Thankfully they relented and granted the request giving Paige the time she needed. 

Of course her efforts proved fruitless, as she couldn't find any of the girls. Sure she could have questioned Aria at the house but with her mother around it didn't seem likely she would open up. From the girls earlier behavior whatever was going on seemed shared only by the four of them and based on Aria's reaction the night before, if things had escalated as far as Paige feared and any parents were involved, the police would have been involved as well. Since no request for Paige to speak to the cops or hand over her cellphone as evidence were made it was clear Emily and her friends were going it alone. 

Having given up on searching for them Paige did as she said she would and began walking back to the Montgomery place. About twenty minutes after leaving school Paige found she missed her bike. She had always been someone who enjoyed the exercise of getting places by her own power but she also appreciated the time saved by doing so on a bicycle. 

Although slow going at least it had been an uneventful journey. When she reached the residential area of town there were a few housewives watching their young children play in the front yards. An elderly man walking his small dog stopped and let Paige pet the mutt. Jason DiLaurentis had run past her at one point with a determination on his face she would normally reserve for athletes in the middle of a competition. Despite his implied focus Paige actually thought she caught the brooding rebel staring in her direction as he moved toward her. As he passed he didn't say or do anything so she chalked it up to paranoia over the hit and run. Although it did seem odd how intensely he was looking her way considering they didn’t know each other. 

There had been some distractions on the walk but overall Paige's thoughts remained on her chat with Emily. The time spent catching up with her had been nice, familiar, and easy. It had been hard not to be greedy and the memory of them holding hands caused Paige's mind to travel other places. It was too bad it had taken being the victim of a hit and run for Paige to feel like she was relaxing around Emily again. 

Paige was only a few blocks from the house when a car pulled up next to her. At first Paige's heart started racing until she noticed it was Spencer Hastings behind the wheel. 

The brunette leaned forward and brought down the automatic window. "Can we talk?"

"Sure." Paige said moving towards the car and climbing in. 

Spencer's arrival was certainly unexpected but managed to give Paige the opportunity she had been looking for and would save her time getting back to Aria's house. 

"How are you feeling?" Spencer asked as Paige buckled her safety belt. 

"Everything aches and I am exhausted but it was worth it. I'm hoping being in school today got all the chatter out of the way."

"They'll keep talking about it until something else drives their attention elsewhere. Human nature," Spencer said as she pulled the car from the curb and into traffic. "Aria gave us her side of what happened. Want to fill me in on your version?"

It was the opening Paige had been hoping for and so she went for it. "Want to fill me in on how come I'm getting texts from someone calling themselves 'A' who isn’t likely Mona?"

Paige was certain she saw Spencer flinch. "You should stay as far away from that as possible."

"Whether I want to be or not, it seems I'm already involved.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Not from the look Aria gave me last night and not from the reaction you just had. Look Spencer, I get it. If someone has tormented you guys trusting must be hard but after what happened to me last night I'm in this as deep as the four of you. My bike was rammed by a car and if it's related to these texts I deserve to know what's going on."

"When people in our lives learn about this things happen, bad things.”

"Bad things already happened. So share. I tell you about my exchange with this Nate guy and you spill about A."

"It's a lopsided share."

Paige was really starting to lose her temper. "Someone tried to kill me."

"But if it wasn't A I'm involving you unnecessarily."

"And I can’t afford to take the chance that it wasn’t related."

"And Emily can't handle another loss." Spencer said with as much frustration in her tone as Paige was feeling.

The sentiment was sweet and hard to argue but it was also a little unfair. Sure Spencer had been Emily's friend for a long time. Paige even appreciated that as much as Spencer didn't want anything to happen much of her concern was on her friend and not necessarily Paige's well being but she knew Spencer was intentionally manipulating her by evoking Emily. It was time to fight fire with fire. "Which is why we started sharing things to begin with. We both want Emily safe and happy."

"Agreed," Spencer relented. "So what do you know about Nate?"

"He's Maya's cousin,” Paige answered and then asked a question of her own. “Who is this A person?"

"If we knew that they would be exposed by now." Spencer volleyed back.

"It was Mona?"

"We have every reason to believe that before she was put away Mona was behind the messages."

"And now?"

"Someone else either stepping up into the position or..."

"Someone behind Mona's to begin with." Paige boldly suggested.

"Exactly. Aria, said you got two messages. Anything since then?"

"No. The first one was at some point after you took Emily home the other night and the other while at the hospital after the accident."

Spencer took a deep breath and kept her eyes on the road. "Were they outright threats?"

"More like snarky, editorial comments. Or maybe puzzles? I don't know. Until I Aria’s reaction to them I had thought it was simply someone on the basketball team bullying me."

“My parents are at work and my sisters out. Can we go over to my place for a little while and talk this through? I have some stuff I should show you."

"Sure, if you can get Aria to keep her mom from worrying." 

"Done."

...

The remainder of the ride was quiet other than Spencer calling over to Aria to run defense with her mom. When they arrived at Spencer's place Paige found herself taking in the understated wealth of the house. Paige's family was also of means but her family was a little more obvious about what they had while Spencer's family seemed a little more reserved. 

As understated as the living space was Spencer's room was almost museum like and spoke volumes about who she was as a person. Unlike most students their age the place was spotless and where most teenagers had walls papered with pop culture Spencer’s room was peppered with trophies and more books than Paige had ever seen. Spencer's love of education and achievement was everywhere. 

"Did you save the texts?" Spencer asked as she closed the bedroom door behind herself.

"I did."

"Can I see?"

"Why not," Paige said as she reached into her pocket and handed over her phone. "Maybe they'll make more sense to you."

Spencer studied the messages and then went to her bag and removed her phone. "Same time frame," she said to herself.

"What is?"

"Your first one. All of us, except Emily, got messages that night as well."

"What did yours say?"

Spencer futzed with her phone for a moment and handed it over. 

A stream of messages from 'A' seemed to be before Paige but as to not over step she merely read the ones on the screen. 

"Is broken little Emily rebelling? - A"

Spencer leaned in to review the messages as well. "The first one we got the day before we all hung out at Aria's."

A puzzle piece snapped into place for Paige. "Is that why I got the invite?" 

Spencer nodded. "In part. The next one matches up time wise with your first one."

"While one pines are others plotting? - A"

Paige felt instantly exposed despite the fact there was little doubt Emily's friends weren’t already aware of her feelings. "Plotting?"

"It seemed odd to us as well. The thing is when Mona was 'A' the texts were mostly threats to get us to act how she wanted."

"These read like warnings."

"Precisely. Yours, on the other hand, read like taunts meant to get you to react." Spencer said as she re-read the messages on Paige’s phone.

"Sure but with no clear cut mission."

"Which wasn't like Mona. Her ‘A’ almost always had a task, which was typically tied to blackmail. Read the last one.”

“Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall. – A” 

“Shakespeare?”

“Yes. Measure for Measure.” Spencer said taking her phone back and throwing it in her bag.

Paige really didn’t like where all of this was going. "So someone new? Someone seemingly invested in something having to do with Emily?"

"It seems likely since, as far as we know, she hasn’t gotten any of these messages.”

“Does she know about them?”

“No. She’s had enough on her plate.”

Paige knew what they were both thinking but neither had yet said. "Maya's death."

"Exactly."

“Which also might be why all this attention on Emily?”

“Exactly.” Spencer repeated and then sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Could this be a wild goose chase? If they keep us distracted something else could more easily go down without interference," Paige offered. "And if this 'A' is as dangerous, or more dangerous than Mona, why the interest in Emily or Maya?"

"I don't know but you getting pulled in worries me."

"Spencer, where is your mind going?"

The look on Spencer’s face turned serious, like she was solving a math problem. "This A must have reasons for wanting us to figure things out but also isn’t willing to hand us over the answer."

"And Emily is at the center." Paige added to the equation. 

"Yes."

At least they were on the same page and suddenly Paige didn’t feel nearly as alone as she had felt. "Whoever this is, they are getting their wish, cause I will not abandon Emily especially if she's in some kind of danger." 

"You were the one nearly run over with a car. The danger might be yours instead."

“Why text taunting me to get involved and then chase me away with a car?” A theory crossed Paige’s mind. "What if the car is connected for other reasons? A warning to walk away from the task being set up for us?" 

"Or a warning to do better?" Spencer suggested. “Whoever this is doesn’t always follow logic.”

“If we think it’s related to Maya should be start there?”

"So tell me about Nate." Spencer suggested.

"Not much to tell. He’s handsome and very protective of Emily. Didn't seem too happy to see me. Emily tried to make it like he was fine with it but the greeting was cold and suspicious. I would also bet money he’s interested in Emily as more than friends."

"Emily’s gay.” Spencer said with obviousness in her tone.

“Doesn’t mean he’s not attracted to her.”

“So that’s it? Did Emily share anything about her time spent with him? Maybe they are doing some investigating of Maya’s death on their own and it’s stirring something up."

"Emily’s grief seems too real still to be playing Scooby-Doo over Maya’s murder."

"Spencer are you up there," came a booming male voice from downstairs. "Spencer!"

Paige knew that tone all to well; it was the bark of a father looking for his daughter and anxious for a reply. The download session was about to be cut short just when the pair was starting to get somewhere. 

...

Peter Hastings, Spencer's father, was a polite but skittish man and there was something about his focused demeanor that was a little much for Paige's tastes. When he turned up at Spencer's bedroom door he was all about her being ready within the hour to go with the family to an event at the country club. Despite her protest, using schoolwork as an excuse, there was no way for Spencer to dodge it. 

Despite her father's insistent that she be ready Spencer did manage to buy herself some time by explaining she had to drive Paige over to Aria’s. It seemed the hit and run had made the paper and Mr. Hastings' focus on the event was trumped by his desire to see Paige returned safe and sound. 

Getting to the car Spencer realized she had left her keys inside so Paige waited for her return. While doing so Paige was surprised to see Jason for the second time that day. The twenty-something was starting to creep her out because of the way she caught him seemingly watching her. Paige did consider he might feel the same way because of the way she was watching him. Almost getting run over by a car did make a person nervous but after seeing him trying to recover something from his car, which was covered by a tarp at the end of the driveway, Paige couldn’t help but wonder why the car was hidden.

"Let's go," Spencer said as she released the electronic locks with her keys.

Climbing in, Paige put on her seat belt and tried not to make it obvious to Jason or Spencer that she was watching Jason with great curiosity. It was probably just a coincidence, what reason would Ali's sister have to run into her bike.

Not wanting to talk about what she considered a crazy theory Paige decided instead to focus on something else. "Why the disappearing act at lunch? If you really wanted me far away from all this than making an excuse so Emily and I could chat didn't really service your goal."

"I really did have class." Spencer replied unconvincingly. 

"It was half way through the period and I saw you drop past to check on us. You were attempting to give us some alone time which, for the record, I'm very grateful to have had."

The car was stopped at a light, which gave Spencer the chance to look over at Paige. The look on her face was that of great earnest. "You just have to go for it."

The blunt offer of advice was unsettling coming from the one girl Paige considered the safest of the bunch. "She's not ready."

"Emily is ready. She's just afraid."

"I told her we would be friends and I won't go back on that Spencer. Emily has to be the one to take the first step."

The car behind them honked as Spencer turned her attention back on the road and the green light. "She's still too wrapped up in Maya's memory to be the one to move forward without a safety net."

"Then she's not ready because she knows very well I would be that for her." Paige heard herself say the words and was reminded that their roles were now reversed. Having been the one not ready when they first grew closer it was now Paige being confident while Emily needed support. 

"And yet you can manage to stand-by her through this?”

The question seemed like a test, an easy test but a test. "Absolutely Spencer, I've had feelings for Emily for a very long time," Paige said as Spencer pulled into Aria's drive way. "It'll happen when it's meant to happen and if it doesn't happen I will still be there for her every step of the way."

"I'm happy to know our instincts about you were right."

"And I'm happy to hear that I'm trusted. It's not like in the past I handled every moment with Emily properly so thank you for the second chance."

"You're in a better place."

"And she's absolutely not," Paige said more to herself than to Spencer. Before continuing her thought something caught Paige's attention in the side mirror. Jason was running by the house but at a pace that seemed to indicate he was looking for more than a work out. "What is up with Jason DiLaurentis?"

Spencer turned the car off and looked in the direction Paige’s attention was being drawn. "Nothing. He likes to run."

"I keep seeing him everywhere I go today. He seems like he's watching."

"Jason's a good guy. He had some rough patches but now he’s got his life back. He even turned his success with addiction into a career helping others.” 

"Sorry, I guess I’m just paranoid," Paige said as she fought off a yawn and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Thanks for the talk Spencer."

"Please keep us informed about anything related to A or Nate."

"I will stick as close to Emily as I can but remember you guys have to remember to share as well.” Paige opened the door and got out of the car. “Oh, and thank you for trusting me."

“Don’t make me regret it.” Spencer said without a hint of threat in her voice.

“I won’t.”


	8. Chapter 8

Thursday

As predicted Aria was silent when it came to anything related to the 'A' texts and instead the rest of the previous evening had been spent chatting about mundane things. Despite the general topics of conversation it was nice getting to know the Montgomery women better. The most interesting part of the evening was finding out Aria’s family knew about her dating her former teacher and her mom was doing her best to remain supportive of the relationship. Paige appreciated the openness the two shared and found she was envious of it. Sure, Paige’s parents had eventually supported her coming out but Paige got the feeling, even with the small questions they would ask, they really didn't want completely honest sharing where Aria’s mother was insisting on it. Aria didn’t always seemed thrilled by her mother’s interest but Paige supposed if the situation were reversed she might not care for it either. It was all perspective.

With a full night's sleep the alarm the next day didn't hurt so bad and neither did the school day. Paige found she was used to the chatter and by the end of lunch conversation about her misfortune was starting to drift towards a sophomore at the school whose brother had been arrested the night before for drunk and disorderly. Apparently the girl was from a troubled family and students were taking odds on if the sophomore would follow the rest of her family to jail someday. Sadly for the young student Spencer had been right, it only took another person's bad luck for Paige to be off the gossip hook.

As great as the day had been by the end of it things took a turn. Paige’s first hurdle had been the arrival of a police detective requesting her come to the station. They wanted her to finalize her statement regarding what happened. It was arranged only after the police agreed to have Ms. Montgomery sit in on the interview in place of Paige’s parents. Paige had nothing to hide but both the principal of her school and Aria’s mother agreed it was the best course of action.

The interview had seemed very standard. Paige talked about what happened in the presence of two police detectives and a tape recorder. As relaxed as she felt about everything there was something about the interview that had Aria’s mother on edge but Paige couldn’t quite put her finger on why. 

When the interview concluded Paige feared her account wasn't going to prove very helpful. It had been dark outside, the car had no license plate, and her description of the vehicle was limited to a blue mid-sized. One of the two detectives seemed very sympathetic but was honest with her that unless knew evidence surfaced it was going to be difficult to solve the case. It seemed that none of the running security cameras downtown had managed to capture any helpful footage. Ms. Montgomery tried to remain positive as the pair walked out of the interview room but Paige knew it was likely hopeless. 

As they walked out of the police station, Ms. Montgomery had laid a reassuring hand on Paige's back. Although the incident had put a crimp on her swim season and hurt like hell at the very least Paige was happy to have found an ally in Aria's mom. 

While starting off in the direction of where the car was parked Jason DiLaurentis appeared to be heading towards them. "What was with this guy turning up everywhere," Paige wondered, as he grew closer. 

Instead of continuing on like he had done the day before Jason stopped directly in front of them. Paige grew instantly uncomfortable.

Ms. Montgomery smiled warmly at the young man. "How are you Jason?"

"I'm good and you?"

"Things are going well. Do you know Aria's friend Paige?"

Jason reached his hand out to shake. "I don't but I know of you. Jason DiLaurentis."

Reluctantly shaking his hand she managed a weak smile. "Paige McCullers."

"Nice to finally meet you."

"You too," Paige lied. "I saw you out running yesterday."

"Right, you were walking somewhere by the house."

"She was probably headed to our place," Ms. Montgomery interjected. "Her parents are out of town."

"I heard about the accident. I'm really sorry to hear what happened. It's actually why I'm here."

"Did you see something?" Paige anxiously asked. 

"I didn't but I have a pretty idea what hit you."

Aria's mom sounded as worried as Paige felt. "Jason?" 

"I was out of town for the last week and returned home to find the front end of my car dinged up."

Paige remained silent, as her recent suspicions about Allison's brother following her suddenly seemed less crazy. 

"Dinged up how?" Aria’s mom asked.

"The front end of my passenger side connected with something."

"Was the car where you left it?"

"Sort of but the driver's seat was in the wrong spot when I got back into it."

Paige finally found her voice. "Is it a dark mid-sized?"

"It is. I’m hoping the police can look into it.”

Ms. Montgomery nodded sympathetically. "Thanks Jason."

The young man shrugged, smiled, and moved off towards the front of the police station.

Even though she was in the presence of an adult, who by their very nature usually want to trust young people, Paige couldn't stop herself from speaking. "I can't help but think that wasn't a coincidence."

"What do you mean?" 

"I don't know. Maybe it's just everything that's happened in this town in the last few years.”

“That family has been through a great deal of tragedy but if you two just met one another I can’t see how you could be connected.”

“I guess.” Paige replied without really believing it.

...

Back at the Montgomery house Paige found herself alone. Aria had a dinner date with Ezra and her mom had somewhere she needed to be. Paige suspected it was a date from the futzing going on before she left but the older Montgomery women wasn’t giving any insight into the nature of her plans. Watching a grown-up try not to give too much away was quite funny. Paige wondered if that was how she had been when sneaking around with Emily. If she was anything like that it was a wonder her parents hadn’t figured things out sooner.

The peace and quiet at the house was proving useful, as Paige was able to not only finish her reading assignment for Ms. Montgomery’s class but also get ahead on an assignment she had been putting off. She could have milked the accident for probably another week but she figured why fall behind. 

It was a knock on the front door, which jolted Paige away from Jane Austen and back to reality. Being it wasn't her house she thought about not checking on it but figured that it couldn't hurt. Putting down her homework she moved to the door. Peering through the peephole Paige smiled. Emily was standing outside shifting nervously on her feet but looking beautiful doing it.

Opening the door Paige was immediately moved by the smile that came to Emily's face. "Hi."

Paige couldn't help but smile back. "Hey. Everything okay?"

"Sure, sure. How are you doing?"

"I'm good."

"Aria mentioned you had to go to the police station today. How did it go?"

"Fine." Paige silently wondered what the real reason for the visit. She knew Emily pretty well and something seemed off for her to be merely checking in on information she already knew. Turning the door handle to be certain it wasn’t locked Paige came outside and joined her. "It's a nice night."

A shy laugh greeted the observation. "It is. Jesus, Paige I'm sorry. I'm acting like such a crazy person."

"It's okay. Sit," Paige said as she reached over and took Emily's hand, drawing them both to the rustic two-seater on the Montgomery porch. "What's going on?"

"I wish I knew. Actually that's not true I know I just can't... Damn it."

"Hey…"

Starting to get up Emily shook her head. "This isn't fair to you. I should go."

"Emily, sit. Talk to me."

The brunette stopped, took a deep breath, and sat back down again. "I went with Nate for a drive and we ended up talking about Maya. One second I'm past it and the next it's crushing me as badly as it did the night they found her."

"It's a process Emily. There is no way things were going to be resolved overnight."

"It's been almost five months."

"There is no clock on grief."

"But I," her words trailed off.

"What?" Paige wished the moment she asked it she had stayed silent and given Emily a chance to continue filling in the blanks.

"I'm so selfish."

"Emily, you are the least selfish person I know."

"She's dead and I'm complaining about how much it hurts."

"Because what happened isn’t fair and because you are the one left behind.”

Emily nodded but said nothing. 

"Maybe it would help to talk to someone other than Maya's cousin.” It seemed an almost risky suggestion considering the dependency Emily seemed to have as of late with the college student but Paige couldn’t help but make it.

"I'm just the only person who can understand what he's going through."

“But what about your needs Emily?”

“He’s in a really bad place.”

"But it sounds like maybe you’re farther along than he is with all of it."

"I wouldn't say that." Emily interjected defensively. 

Paige worried she had stepped too far. "I didn’t mean that as a bad thing. I just meant he seems to stir things up for you in ways you wish he didn't."

"Maybe." Emily relented in almost a whisper.

“We all just want you to be able to be happy again Emily. You deserve to be happy again.”

Emily turned and with a look that nearly knocked Paige’s breath away filled the silence with words. “I want to be, happy.”

Their heads were so close that Paige could feel Emily’s breath. As they both sat staring at one another, shivers ran all over Paige’s body. It took every ounce of will power not to move forward or back until she noticed tears forming in Emily’s eyes. Ending the intensity between them was a struggle but it was the right thing to do as Paige pulled Emily into a tight embrace. 

...

It was getting to be nine o’clock and Paige was still home alone and unable to deal with any of her homework. The near miss with Emily was lingering on her mind. How had she been so stupid to sit there staring as the pair of them sat silently? It was no wonder things got complicated. Emily was too vulnerable right now for Paige to be adding any guilt over moving on to her already complicated life. 

The pair had sat on the porch hugging for a very long time but things never went further. Common sense had prevailed which Paige was happy about. As much as she hoped for a day they would once again be more than friends Paige knew now wasn’t the time. 

Lost in thought a loud crash in the backyard caused Paige to jolt forward and nearly off the chair she was sitting in. Taking a deep breath she listened closely but heard nothing more. “Must be an animal knocking something over,” she thought as she sat back down. 

Before she could completely settle down again there was another knock at the front door. Worried it might be Emily again Paige moved quickly to the front door and opened it without looking. Standing in the doorway was Jason DiLaurentis. 

Hands in his pockets and dressed in jeans and a polo Jason looked the part of a rich, laidback, young man. "Can we talk?" the twenty something asked. 

It seemed an odd request from someone Paige had seen more of in the last forty hours than she had seen her whole life but after the reveal at the police station it was to intriguing a request to pass up. "Sure."

"Can I come in?"

"I'm the only one home." The moment the sentence finished escaping Paige’s mouth she wanted it back. Nothing like telling someone you’re suspicious of that you were currently easy pickings. "I'll come outside."

Jason seemed almost nervous, which only increased Paige’s curiosity. "It would be better if we could talk inside."

Perhaps it was his honest face, perhaps it was the curiosity, but despite the tiniest of worry at the back of her mind, Paige moved out of the way and gestured him inside. "Come in."


	9. Chapter 9

Immediately upon entering the house Jason seemed to relax but as calm as he got, Paige got just as nervous. She kept a close eye on him as she closed the front door behind herself. "Why all the mystery?"

"Because the police finished their tests."

“That doesn’t answer my question.” As she stared at him the implication of his words was suddenly very clear. Even without him spelling it out, Paige filled in the blank as calmly as she could considering the meaning. "Your car."

"Yes." It suddenly felt very foolish to have let him in and it must have showed as Jason put his hands up. "I am being set me up."

Paige managed to hold her ground. "Why should I believe it wasn't you behind the wheel?"

"I have proof that I was out of town when it happened and I have absolutely no reason to want to run you off the road."

Paige wanted to evoke the name of his sister as proof that Rosewood was filled with horrible examples of random violent acts but it seemed cruel. "Can you understand why I might be suspicious?"

He looked at her with sympathy in his eyes. It felt like he was thinking the same as she had been thinking. "Yes and honestly it's good that you are."

"How did you know I was here?"

"Ms. Montgomery mentioned it today at the police station." 

"So why the personal visit? You could have called."

"I thought it was important to have the conversation face to face."

"So we’ve had the conversation. If there is nothing else." Paige wasn’t sure how she had gotten so brave or why she was compelled to throw him out of the house. Perhaps being in the presence of a member of the DiLaurentis family was a little too much to handle. 

Jason nodded, adding a weak but polite smile, and moved to the door. Before putting his hand on the doorknob he turned in her direction. "Who would want to do it?"

"Do what?"

“Run you over.”

Paige found she was compelled to answer honestly. “I have no idea.” 

“Whoever it is, you do know, this has to be about both of us,” Jason added. "There must be something or someone we have in common."

"We don't travel in the same circles."

"There has to be someone." 

The determination in his voice might have been scary had his anger been directed at her, instead it merely highlighted a desperation that Paige found sad. Suddenly she had a desire to help him, which was a crazy instinct considering she was the one injured. "I originally thought it was related to a basketball player from school that I pissed off."

"I don't know any of the current players from Rosewood not even from my counseling work."

"Counseling work?"

"Drug counseling." Jason explained.

"Right, I heard that." A large crash in the backyard caused both of them to jump. "Jesus."

"Does Aria have a dog?"

"No, but something is loose out there. That's the second time tonight."

They both tried to shake off the scare as Jason turned the conversation back again. "What other connections could there be?"

The twenty-something was walking a fine line with Paige but she knew holding things back from him might keep her from figuring out why she ended up the victim of a hit and run. It was time to see if Jason really was the key to what happen. "Your sister. We didn't know each other well but what little we did know of each other; we didn't exactly get along."

"She pushed you around." Jason's words were flat like he was addressing the weather. 

Despite all her growth in the previous year it was remarkable she still had enough “vulnerable” on her that he would conclude she was a victim of his little sister’s whims. Paige found all she could do was nod at him.

"Bullying was a hobby of hers."

"She was good at it.”

“You weren’t the only person she made life miserable for on a daily basis.”

The comment seemed a confession. Paige wondered how such a young woman could have managed to punish her big brother. “It was hard to move past her taunts."

"How did she torment you? If it's okay to ask."

"She was on to me and the fact I had a thing for Emily."

"Emily?" Jason questioned. His interest, obviously, peaked. 

"Yeah, we actually dated for a little while last year. It ended after I couldn't step up or, I suppose, out."

"Did you know Maya?" Jason spoke each word like a puzzle was snapping into place for him. 

"Not really. Emily and I dated while they were apart. When she came back I tried to keep my distance."

Jason turned to the front door and turned the knob. "Look I've got to go check something but I'll be in touch."

His abrupt shift was startling. Before Paige could investigate further the door opened revealing a startled Aria standing in the doorway.

...

The look on Aria's face when she walked in the front door was that of fear and concern. It seemed her shock went beyond finding someone standing just inside the door. She eyed Jason like he was a criminal. "What are you doing here?"

"I was checking in to see if Paige was okay. She can fill you in on the rest. I've got to be going." And with that, Ali's older brother was gone. 

The latch on the door hadn’t finished clicking into place and Aria sprung. "Why was he here?"

"It was his car that hit me."

"What? You let him in the house?"

The logic wasn't lost on Paige. It hadn’t been her smartest move. "He wasn't the one driving. He was out of town at the time."

Aria's eyes rolled but she dropped the lecture. "Okay, so it was Jason’s car but he wasn't driving? Why would someone use his car to hit you?"

Paige shrugged and headed back into the living room. "Our thoughts exactly."

Aria was hot on her heels. "That doesn't make much sense. Does he have any ideas?"

"I thought we were getting somewhere until he bolted."

"What were you talking about when I came in?"

The conversation ran through Paige’s had. As the words escaped a light bulb went off. "Maya."

Aria took a seat on the sofa. "I didn't think Jason knew Maya."

"Maybe not but his mood definitely shifted when her name came up."

"We should call Spencer."

"Why?"

"It's a long story but Spencer might know."

Paige had already agreed to share things with the trio. So if Aria thought Spencer should be folded in, she would fold her in. It couldn't make matters any worse. Besides if Maya was involved it was likely that Emily was somehow tied in as well. There was no way Paige was going to see Emily hurt again by goings on in Rosewood.


	10. Chapter 10

Friday

Paige hadn’t slept a wink. Between the crashing sounds outside the house and Aria's reaction to Jason, she was left unsettled. One question spent the night on endless loop in Paige's head. “What would she have done if Jason had wanted to hurt her?”

Paranoia of being threatened had caused her nerves to fray when opening the door to him but not fear for her life. Paige wanted to think she would have successfully protected herself but realistically there was no doubt Jason could have gotten the upper hand without much effort. Had he wanted to end her life, he could have.

Her inability to sleep was further aided by a curious, but unhelpful, phone conversation with Spencer. During the call the brunette had listened with great interest but tended to reply with things like "okay" and "then what". When she did speak her tone gave an indication that she found the information useful but, much like Jason's bolting, Spencer got off the call without filling in any blanks. Being the daughter of a very well respected lawyer in Rosewood had served Spencer well, which only managed to frustrate Paige.

When the alarm went off that morning Paige was already showered, dressed, and downstairs in the Montgomery kitchen enjoying a post run orange juice, coffee, and eating a bowl of cereal. Although her shoulder still bothered her, the gently paced jog had at least calmed her down a little. The coffee was to perk her up because without any real sleep caffeine was her only hope to get through the day.

The excuse to Aria and her mom when they appeared in the kitchen was she had gotten up a short time before and couldn't go back to sleep. From the look Aria had given her. Paige assumed the little, white, lie hadn't been entirely convincing but if anyone might understand it would be Aria. 

...

Exhaustion kicked in and school was proving a chore. By mid-day heavy eyelids, and Paige's hatred of her science class, made concentrating difficult. The lessons were always horribly dull and the lab work monotonous; adding sleep deprivation was a recipe for snoring in class. 

Sitting alone at her workstation, Paige hoped she could manage to stay awake. Being left to her own devices while mixing chemicals was going to prove a challenge though. Her normal lab partner had been out sick all week. On the plus side, at least, that meant she didn't have to listen to him babble about his favorite sport’s team. 

Holding back a yawn while turning over the lab assignment, Paige noticed Hanna enter the room and hand the teacher a note. Worry bubbled up as Paige watched Hanna's gaze go from the note in her hand to the back of the classroom. The pair of them locked eyes and Paige hoped whatever was happening that it was far better news than what her imagination was cooking up. Hanna exchanged words with the teacher and then made her way towards the only empty seat in the class, next to Paige. 

"Thank god I'll at least get to work with someone I like."

"What are you doing here?" Paige questioned as the blonde pulled a notebook from her bag and opened it. 

"It's the last week to drop and add classes. My counselor discovered I was missing a credit. So good-bye free period and hello confusing science class. What are we supposed to be doing?"

Paige handed over the lab instructions to her new partner. "Following these and recording the results."

Taking the paper, Hanna looked it over and shrugged. "I guess it could be worse." Grabbing the first of the liquids on the list, the blonde studied it briefly before pouring it into the glass measuring cup as instructed. Reaching the desired amount she then poured the clear chemical into the glass container that was hovering over the burner. 

Paige was impressed with Hanna's confidence with the assignment and pulled back a little to watch her work. Step by step each instruction was followed to the letter as Paige recorded the results. If only the mystery that was overwhelming her was as easy as the basic chemical reaction Hanna was creating. 

As Hanna completed the assignment the teacher excused herself. When the door closed behind her the room erupted into chatter. The experiment was time sensitive but since they were done the noise didn't much matter to Paige. 

"You think that was the goal?" Hanna asked pointing to the blue fizzing liquid in the glass jar before them.

"Seemed like you did everything you were supposed to do."

"Well, that didn't seem hard."

"Maybe the grade is tied to how we record what happened during each step?"

"I hope you took good notes."

Paige nodded. 

"Good. I can't afford to see my grades drop. I'm already on thin ice at home." Hanna's eyes rolled for dramatic effect. 

"We can't do any worse than everyone else in here," Paige pointed out. With the exception of a quiet, studious girl and her equally studious lab partner at the front of the room no one was looking to grab an A on this assignment. Fellow classmates were doing everything from making phone calls to chatting about pop culture and sports.

"True. So the girls mentioned some thing went down last night. I'm glad you're okay. Emily doesn't need to face any more tragedy."

Hanna was once again making it very clear her concern but more so her loyalty. Of all the girls, Paige was certain it would be Hanna to trust to take care of Emily if the need arose. 

"Students," the teacher said after ducking her head into the room. Like a light switch the whole room fell silent. "Keep doing your labs. I will be right back."

For a brief moment the room snapped back into assignment mode and then went back to chatting after only a minute. 

"Just don't end up hurting her. Okay?" Hanna's implication was clear even if the transition was clumsy. "I mean, I've done some stupid stuff when it comes to boys but you had me beat with that stuff last year."

Paige wasn't proud of how she lashed out and would never entirely forgive herself for tormenting Emily as she had. Issues with her sexuality were no excuse for her acts of bullying "I was in a really bad place. I would never."

"Good. Cause as scary as Spencer can be, I can be scarier." 

It was a threat but Hanna still managed a smile and a passively, sweet, tone. Despite the polite delivery Paige believed every word of the none-to-veiled threat. Nodding, Paige smiled back. "I like she's got you on her side."

"Always."

"No matter what?" Paige wasn't sure why the question. Emily was hardly the type to do anything that would be worthy of pushing away such a great friend but Paige wanted to hear the answer. 

Hanna locked eyes with Paige. "No matter what."

"Good, because I can be pretty scary as well."

Hanna smiled again, only this time wider, and it lit up the science lab. The blonde then nodded and turned back to the experiment. "Spencer, told me to tell you she would meet you by your locker after class." 

With that added detail the conversation about Emily was over. The blonde had made her protectiveness very clear and delivered the message she was sent to deliver. 

Spencer might have been the unofficial leader of their group but it seemed Hanna was the muscle. Arguably one of the school's most beautiful girls, but the thought of Hanna growing up to be a bodyguard or a hit woman didn't seem far fetched after the conversation in science lab.

...

"You off to class?" asked the disembodied voice of Spencer Hastings from her place on the other side of Paige's locker door. 

Paige pulled the book and binder she needed and shut the door. "Free period."

"Me too. Library?"

Paige shrugged. "Sure."

Walking down the hallway past scurrying students and teachers, the pair remained silent until they reached the stairwell that led to the library. It was then that Paige found she couldn't take it anymore. "I've held up my end of this by telling you everything I know. It's time to return the favor. What's going on?"

"I'll explain when we get to the library."

Paige had enough of the waiting. Her frustration, her fear, and her exhaustion rose up. "You'll explain now Spencer or I'm out."

Just as Paige raised her voice the door to the first floor opened and Jenna, with her on again, off again boyfriend Noel Kahn, came through laughing about something. Noel wasn't the least bit interested in them and kept bounding up the stairs with the grace of an oaf. Jenna, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow as she looked pointedly at both of them before continuing on. It seemed impossible, since Spencer Hastings seemed afraid of nothing, but Paige swore she saw Spencer shiver. 

As put off by Jenna's close inspection as Spencer seemed, once the coast was clear, she finally replied in a soft, calm tone. "That's the thing Paige. People don't seem to get out of this, which is why we have to be careful. It's why you have to be especially careful."

If the conversation in the car or Aria's reaction to Jason hadn't been nerve-wracking enough, Spencer's latest warning made things worse. Paige heeded Spencer's advice and waited, hoping to learn the latest piece she was missing.

Thankfully it didn't take long for Spencer to reveal what she knew. As they reached the first landing, after a quick glance of the empty stairwell, Spencer dropped the bomb. "He's my brother. Well, half-brother."

Paige was certain Spencer was talking about someone else. "Jason, is your brother?"

"Yes. It came to light recently and it's not common knowledge."

Paige knew that was code for 'still a giant secret' but that still didn't explain Spencer's confession. "And?"

"You're wondering why I didn't say anything last night? It's not entirely relevant to what’s going on and I have no reason not to believe he’s innocent," Spencer said as she started towards the next landing. "What reason would he have for playing these games with you?"

Paige was now even more anxious for answers. "I haven't any idea but as much as you trust him; Aria sure looked spooked when she found me alone with him in the house."

"You were just hit by a car and as it turns out it was his car."

"Preciously."

"Any of us would have been nervous walking in and finding you alone with someone you don't know very well."

"But if he has an alibi," as the words came out of Paige's mouth she realized it sounded like she was now the one defending him. Point in fact; she was actually defending her decision to let him inside the house.

"Preciously." Spencer added turning Paige’s response back on her.

"So why did it seem as if he was taking on responsibility for what happened? Maybe he's lying about his involvement. Maybe he planned it. Whatever it is, he's not telling the whole story.”

“What do your instincts tell you?”

“He's pretty pissed off that someone would set him up. If it wasn’t Jason it would seem the person responsible knows or wants to point the finger at him."

Spencer pushed opened the door and held it for Paige to walk through. "How so?" 

The question seemed a trap that Paige imagined Spencer's mother, the lawyer, would ask. There was no point skirting around it though, not if she wanted answers. Moving through the door, Paige turned and stopped. "I mentioned to him about me, about thing's with Emily, and her relationship with Maya, and he reacted."

"You mentioned to me last night that he left after you brought it up but what do you mean, he reacted?"

"It wasn't anything too obvious but there was absolutely a reaction. I would compare it to how you looked the night at Aria’s when you were trying to piece together what's going on with Emily." 

The look Paige was talking about crossed Spencer's face, confirming the comparison. A resemblance Paige had never noticed came brightly into view. Spencer Hastings wheels were spinning same as her brother's had the night before. 

"What?” Paige asked, “I am not seeing it."

"I might be." Spencer said with her thought's elsewhere.

"What?"

"I have to check on something first."

"Are you planning on sharing?"

"I will, once I'm sure."

"Spencer, don't shut me out."

"I'm not, I promise. I just want to be sure of something before I start us down the wrong path."

Paige exhaled, her frustration needing an escape. "It's a good thing I like you Spencer cause under different circumstances we might have ended up hating one another."

"I could see that," Spencer said with a certain nod of the head. "Give me a couple hours."

"In the mean time I will wait patiently for the other shoe to drop." Paige said with annoyed sarcasm dripping from her every word.

The comment went unanswered, as Spencer seemed distracted by something over Paige's shoulder.

"What?"

"Or you could have a chat with Emily." A tiny smirk accented Spencer's suggestion. 

Paige turned slowly and noticed Emily walking towards them from the end of the hallway. She was in a pair of tight jeans and a beautiful top that hung on her perfectly. Paige smiled and took in every inch of her. 

"Go talk to Emily. I'll be in touch."

Paige didn't exactly see Spencer turn back towards the doorway and disappear. As she turned to thank her, like a magician, Spencer was gone. 

"Hi." Emily said as she got within a comfortable distance.

"Hi."

"We've been saying that a lot lately."

"Nothing wrong with saying hello." Paige said with a smile.

The smile was instantly returned. "Nothing at all. Look, about last night. I'm sorry for turning up unannounced and then dumping my drama on you."

"Stop apologizing. Friends help one another."

"I know but..."

"Emily, it's okay."

"Well, thank you."

"You’re welcome."

The quick bit of silence grew strangely intimate until Emily looked away. "Where was Spencer going?"

"She needed to check on something."

"Anything interesting?"

There was no point in hiding it. "Her brother dropped by after you left last night."

"You know about Jason?"

"She told me."

"Why would she do that?"

"He dropped over last night to tell me something about the accident. When I told her. She revealed the secret."

Emily's smile disappeared. "What would Jason know about what happened to you?"

"Jason wasn't in town at the time but from evidence the police have collected, it was his car that struck me."

"Jason's?" Emily’s eyes sparked and her body seemed to be ready to leap into action. 

Paige had seen this before and was instantly worried Emily would go off half-cocked. "Yes, but…"

"How can we be so sure it wasn't Jason driving?"

The worry on Emily's face dripped with suspicion and that made Paige question why Spencer was so quick to write him off as innocent. "He has an alibi, and the police have confirmed it."

Emily's eyes shifted again. She started to speak but whatever she wanted to say she stopped herself from sharing.

Paige decided to calm down the conversation. Emily didn't need to get worked up. "What motive would there be? He and I don't know one another and to orchestrate an alibi takes a lot of effort."

"Mona managed quite a few remarkable feats while she was manipulating us."

"Isn't she some mad genius?"

"Doesn't matter. I don't like Spencer immediately accepting that Jason is innocent. Someone tried to kill you." The worry on Emily's face was touching. On the other hand, the truth of her words was terrifying. 

"Which would seem to indicate they had a motive. I have never spoken to Jason DiLaurentis until yesterday. So unless he needed to score points in a real world version of Grand Theft Auto and I was merely the easiest target, I think he was telling the truth."

"I'm sorry you have all this coming at you."

"I'm doing okay," Paige reminded her. "Please don't worry about me."

Emily nodded and gave a weak smile. "So where are you off to?"

"The library to finish a paper."

"I would come with but I promised coach I would drop in and go over some things with her this afternoon before practice. With you down for the count she needed some extra help and this is my only free period today. Maybe I'll drop by tonight?" 

"You know where to find me." Paige said trying to keep her excitement silent even though she was secretly hoping Emily would come over to Aria's house. 

"I'll see you later."

As Emily Fields continued on her way, Paige managed to keep herself from turning around to watch her go.

...

The library was quiet, which should have made the work on her English paper easy. Paige unfortunately couldn't concentrate on Jane Austen because her thoughts were bouncing between the information she had shared with Spencer and the conversation with Emily. 

"You and Hastings dating now?" Jenna Marshall flippantly remarked as she crossed to the stack of books near where Paige was sitting. The dark-haired troublemaker had turned up out of thin air. 

"What?" Paige replied back looking up from the same page she had been studying for ten minutes. 

"You and Spencer were having quite the chat in the stairwell."

"So?" Paige questioned, not taking the bait.

Jenna's eye's rolled. "Forget, I said anything."

"You really do enjoy just going at people full throttle."

"No point in subtlety. Life is too short."

"You could just say 'hello' or 'do you mind if I join you at the table?'," Paige offered. Engaging in a battle of sarcastic wit with Jenna was probably not the smartest idea but Paige wanted to see if she could go toe to toe and win this time. 

"You seem to be mistaking me for a person who has friends."

"And why is it you don't?"

"Alison DiLaurentis." The reply was quick, simple, and pointed. 

Paige wasn't sure why she didn't heed the unspoken warning present in Jenna’s tone but she pressed on. "You're blaming a dead girl for your behavior? Alison was a very cruel person but she's gone. Why not drop the role-play?"

"Because without it, I would never survive high school. As I recall she was as cruel to you and you adopted the duck and cover tactic..."

A light bulb went on. "And you the barrel in head first."

A knowing smile crossed Jenna's lips. "I will have plenty of time in college to assimilate into tired old clichés and hang out with insignificant idiots."

"You're not giving your current network enough credit. Noel certainly qualifies in both categories." The second the words were spoken Paige felt her foot in her mouth. 

Jenna surprised her by letting escape a tiny laugh. "True."

"So do you want to keep snarking at me or would you rather have a seat?"

"Snark."

Paige turned back to her work. "Suit yourself."

"Okay, fine. No need to get all dramatic." Jenna said as she pulled up a chair and dropped the books she was carrying on to the table. "Wouldn't want you to look like a loser with no friends."

"So I'm your charity project now?"

"Those of us who've been victims of Alison should probably stick together."

"Oh, I get it. You never know when you will need an ally?"

"You're catching on. Don't get carried away this doesn't make us actual friends. We are merely two people with similar goals."

The comment made Paige instantly curious. "What would those be?"

"To see the guilty go down."

"Some people I know would put you in that category."

"They might not be wrong to think that. I've done some questionable stuff but no worse than your new circle ever did."

The reference was clearly related to Emily and the others but the reason for it was lost on Paige.

Jenna slid the books in front of her to the side and stared through Paige as she spoke. "You realize they are partially responsible for what happened to my sight?"

"Those girls would never hurt anyone. Not intentionally."

"Kind of like you would never drown Emily."

The air in the room seemed to be instantly sucked out of it. Paige couldn't believe what Jenna was saying. "How do you...?"

"I see all.” Jenna said was what amounted to a devilish smile. “Do you deny it?"

"I was in a dark place."

"Precisely, but your new pals didn’t have that excuse. Alison might have been pulling the strings but that doesn't mean they don't deserve payback some day.” Ire dripped from Jenna's words, "After all, you reap what you sow."

"Whatever Alison might have orchestrated in the past, Mona's revenge against the others was extreme."

"And if you could have gone after Alison for the way she treated you and if you could have gotten away with it. You’re telling me you wouldn't have?"

Paige couldn’t bring herself to consider the question. "Did you?"

"I didn't have the chance."

"So if you had the chance you would have gone for it?"

"Without hesitation but, I suppose, that's in the past." The weight of Jenna’s words hung between them for a moment as she pulled her books back in front of herself and opened one of them. 

"Were you and the girls ever close?"

"Never.” Jenna said before looking up. “They were lockstep with Alison. She led. They followed."

"Alison wasn't someone you easily stood up to."

"They never even tried."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Look Paige,” Jenna said flipping the book closed. “I get you have this thing for Emily and so in your mind she, and her friends, can do no wrong but those four are hardly angels."

"I'm sorry you feel that way. They've always been nice to me."

"Yeah, well, I ended up blind and labeled a bitch so..."

"So people misjudged you. Why not reinvent yourself?"

"After all I've seen, even while blind, I'm not sure I would ever want to reinvent myself."

"For what it's worth I would be willing to call you my friend."

Jenna laughed. "Which makes you foolish."

"I don't think it would."

"Your other friends would drop you in a hot second if you did."

Paige couldn’t figure out why she was extending an offer of friendship to Jenna Marshall but it felt like the right thing to do. "Lucky for me no one tells me who I consider a friend."

There was a shifting in Jenna's body language, like she was fighting her own brain. After a moment she opened the book again and looked to the page before her. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I won't. Besides they might surprise you."

"No, they won't but it will be fun watching them squirm when they find out."

...

The rest of the free period was spent with both of them nose deep in work. Paige managed to get through the next chunk of her Jane Austen reading. Jenna seemed to be occupied with a stack of books and a notepad. When the bell rang they went their separate ways with a nod and only a dash of snark from Jenna. Paige considered it progress. 

Not knowing anything about what had turned the brunette against Emily and her friends, Paige decided she would find out. There was obviously a lot of bad blood and considering how kind the foursome seemed she couldn't imagine what would have set Jenna against them. 

If Paige was going to be trusting her safety, and Emily’s happiness, by placing both in the hands of her friends, Paige realized she needed to know more than just the basics about who they all were.

Unfortunately there wasn’t time to go to the computer lab and begin her research. She had another class to get to so Paige packed up her stuff and headed to her locker to swap her belongings. There was no reason to cart around the items she didn't need. 

When she reached her locker and opened it a note fell out. Picking it up off the floor, she unfolded it, and then read the cut out words. A chill ran over her as the mismatched fonts spelled out a message she wasn’t thrilled to get. 

WHY IS IT I ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THE HEAVY LIFTING? – A


	11. Chapter 11

* * * 

WHY IS IT I ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THE HEAVY LIFTING? - A

The message was another puzzle. Paige was getting sick of puzzles, and games, and being afraid. With no idea what she was supposed to have done or not done and not understanding what heavy lifting referred to, she wanted to scream. 

Spencer was holding back. Jenna was convinced any friendship with her would lead to making Emily and her friends angry. Due to someone trying to run her down with a car, for reasons that were at best unknown and at worst completely terrifying, Paige hadn't slept in days. When piled onto the taunting from all the mysterious messages, she was over it. 

Standing at her locker, Paige had two choices. Choice one was to throw out the note and just ignore the taunt. Choice two was to face it head on. Neither seemed all that effective. One option made her feel, even if it was a lie, that she was in control.

"What is it you want from me?" Paige asked in a text to the number that had been reaching out to her before now. She considered that the paper message might be someone else trying to torment her but at least this felt pro-active. 

The words seemed to fall on deaf ears. As students hurried by, the phone, clutched in Paige's hand, did nothing. Paige moved to throw the phone in her locker when it suddenly vibrated. Startled she slowly turned it over to read the screen.

"Impressive that you asked but I'm not telling." - A

"What the hell?" Paige said loud enough to get the attention of some people standing nearby. The judgment was clear on the faces of her peers but Paige didn't care. What was going on was ludicrous and she had enough. 

There were her final few classes of the day to consider but Paige was done. With what was happening there was no way her education was going to be improved upon while her mind swirled over the mystery that was gripping her life. The school had a very flexible policy when it came to leaving school grounds and she was about to exercise it. The rest of the school day be damned; enough was enough. If her teachers wanted to toss her in detention for skipping class she would drum up a doctor's note. It couldn't be too difficult considering a car had hit her. Shoving her phone and the note in her pant's pocket and tossing her books back into her locker, Paige grabbed her jacket and then slammed the door shut. 

Moving her way through the nearly empty corridors Paige weaved around a pair of students who seemed more inclined to be smoking in the courtyard then going to class. One of them was at least polite enough to apologize as he nearly backed into her while laughing with his friend. 

"No worries." Paige offered with a glance back as she continued down the corridor. 

As she turned back to look where she was going Paige didn't have time to avoid a collision which sent a shock wave of pain up her arm and into her shoulder. It was so intense she felt tears well in her eyes. 

"Paige, are you okay?" Emily Fields said as she wrapped her arms around Paige keeping the both of them from toppling over. The books Emily had been carrying weren't so lucky as they crashed to the ground. 

"No." Paige somehow managed to say though the pain, the frustration, and the exhaustion. Reaching up, she gently rubbed her damaged shoulder in a gesture that was more about comfort than pain relief. 

"I'm so sorry. Your arm."

"It was my fault. I should have been watching where I was going." Paige managed to say while unsuccessfully holding back tears for a limb that had managed only a small amount of damage during the hit and run. "Damn it."

"What's going on?"

"It's nothing, Emily."

"It's not nothing. Where were you going?"

Paige pulled away from Emily's grasp. "I just need to get out of here."

"Okay, something has happened cause you were fine when I saw you last period."

"Emily, look, thank you. I'm sorry about the books but I have to go."

Not waiting for Emily to protest any further Paige continued down the hallway towards the exit. 

\---

"Paige, wait up." Yelled a persistent Emily as she made her way at a run down the tree-lined street. "What is going on?"

Paige wanted to be invisible in that moment, an ironic wish considering how long she felt invisible while a student at Rosewood. She wanted to keep going, ignore the question, but this was Emily and Paige was powerless where she was concerned. Stopping at the street corner she took a deep breath and turned. "I needed to get out of there."

"Something happened."

"Yes. Something has been happening for days now."

"Is this about the accident?"

"And about A. Texts, notes in my locker, and you being so deeply sad." The last part she hadn't intended to say. 

"A?" Emily’s face went white. “What do you mean, A?”

“Crap.” Paige thought as she realized what she had done. “Nothing, it’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. What do you know of A?”

She was trapped so she figured she might as well share. “I’ve been getting messages since the accident. Like someone is trying to motivate me to do something but they won’t tell me what it is.”

Emily seemed to force herself to calm down. “I understand.” She was keeping the secret that she didn’t know Paige was already in on thanks to the others. 

"But you shouldn't have to, that's the point." 

"What's happened since I saw you earlier?"

It was going to be a race to see which of them got to the other girls first so Paige pulled the note from her pocket. It was crumbled but Emily carefully pulled it apart. Her eyes scanned across the paper and she took a very deep breath. 

"Yeah," Paige said as she slowly started to head further down the street. It wasn't as if she was leaving Emily behind, Paige just couldn't stand still. 

Without missing a beat Emily picked up the hint and began walking to catch up. "Look Paige, I promise you we will figure this out."

"I promised myself I wouldn't be manipulated by anyone anymore. Now here I am, a chess piece again." The floodgates were opening and Paige was helpless to stop the honesty. 

"Spencer would probably say, that even a pawn could help capture the king."

"But who are we after; this A person, or the person that hit me, or the person who took Maya from you, or are they all the same. I'm sorry I haven't slept in days. Maybe this is just exhaustion talking."

A hand slowly took Paige's and warmth rose from her palms, up her wrist, along her arm, and gripped her heart. Emily was holding her hand and suddenly nothing else mattered. Paige could have, and maybe should have, left it alone but she didn't. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Always know exactly what to do. No doubts. You just do it."

Emily laughed that soft, shy, laugh which Paige adored. "I have doubts all the time."

"But you still leap."

"Maybe life is too short to do otherwise."

The wisdom of her words was startling considering Maya's murder. Paige gave Emily's hand a gently squeeze and the pair walked the remaining distance to Aria's mother's house silently holding hands. 

\---

The house was empty; a given considering the school day wasn't over. Going to the kitchen Paige got them both a glass of water and headed back to the living room after taking the pain medication the doctor’s had prescribed after the accident. The collision in the hallway had taken its toll on her.

When she walked in she saw Emily putting her phone back in her pocket. It was likely that someone in their group, maybe all of them, now knew that Emily was aware of Paige’s messages from A. The wrath of Spencer Hastings was imminent.

Handing over one of the glasses to Emily, Paige took a deep breath. As she took a seat on the sofa many subjects crossed Paige's mind but she decided to be brave and go for the direct approach. "Your friends are worried about you and so am I especially after our talk last night."

Emily drank from the glass, seemingly taking in the statement. "I'm okay. People grieve in different ways."

"We all get that but lately..."

"I’ve scared everybody. Hell, I scared myself a little, but there is no reason to worry. I just needed to go through some things."

“And I get that, Emily. I just wish you could go through those things with your friends by your side or with a doctor.”

“I thought about what you said and I’m going to try and pull back a little with Nate. You were right. His mourning is only twisting up mine.”

"I’m glad I could help. Just promise me if you ever need a friend you'll call me. No matter what."

Emily smiled and placed the glass on the coffee table. "How is it you were having a meltdown not ten minutes ago and now you're the one busy worrying about me?"

"It's how I cope."

"We are a pair, huh?"

The words struck Paige like an arrow. "If only," she thought but had the self-control not to say out loud. Staying silent wasn't enough to keep Paige from revealing as much as her words would have done. An unstoppable lone tear started to form and then slowly fall. Reaching up to brush it aside, Paige's hand was stopped by Emily's. 

Instead a gentle brush of Emily's thumb captured the tear and then her hand held Paige's face. Thousands of words swam in Paige's mind but speaking any of them might have broken the spell. Their eyes were locked on one another. Their energy towards one another from the night before was coursing through Paige. The previous evening she had the self-control to keep things from getting serious. Today Paige could only manage to look away. 

The averting didn't last long as soft lips met hers in a tentative kiss. "Emily is mourning Maya," hammered in Paige's brain but her heart forced her to go along with what was happening. 

When the kiss ended Emily's hand remained on Paige's cheek. An already complicated situation was now worse but Paige decided now wasn't the time to think. 

The shy smile returned to Emily's face and Paige felt herself blush. "Just no words," she told herself. 

Fighting off a yawn, which was far from romantic, Paige felt Emily's gentle nudge for her to rest. Taking the silent suggestion Paige shifted on the sofa and laid her head in Emily's lap.

As if of the same mind, Emily said nothing. Instead she adjusted herself slightly, allowing Paige a better surface to place her head. The second Paige grew comfortable Emily began to softly caress her hair. 

Her mind should have been racing so hard it made sleep impossible but before Paige knew it exhaustion took over.

...

The voice of Emily Fields invaded Paige's mind as she began to stir. "She's exhausted."

"Understandable," whispered Ms. Montgomery. Under different circumstances being found asleep in Emily's lap would have caused Paige embarrassment but with recent events, Aria's mom had to understand what was going on. "Do you need anything?"

Emily must have shaken her head as Paige heard footsteps head out of the room. 

Despite wanting to remain right where she was, Paige opened her eyes. Words were now in order and the simplest seemed the most obvious. "Thank you."

"Feeling a little better?" Emily asked. 

"Much." Paige said sitting up carefully to avoid any more pain in her shoulder. 

"Good. Shoulder still hurt?"

"It aches some but my medication seems to have helped a little. Did I hear Ms. Montgomery?"

"She just got home."

"Time to face the music."

"It will be fine. I think she was worried about you."

"She's a kind person."

"She is," Emily said with a smile as her eyes looked anywhere but at Paige. 

"Whatever, you think you need to say, you don't."

"I do."

"Emily, it's probably best if we just pretend it didn't happen." Paige had no idea where the courage to say the words came from but she was proud of herself for saying them.

"I don't want to pretend,” Emily said with soulful eyes. “I also don't want to lead you on."

"You're not ready."

"I'm not ready yet but I also can’t pretend I don’t want to be. Nor can I possibly hold you back."

"Emily, it's okay."

"I wish that were true."

"Okay, it's not exactly great but I would never ask you to move towards anything until you were certain. I don't want to be something you try to force on yourself."

"I just need time."

"Maya died, Emily. She didn't leave you, or cheat on you. She died. I might not understand the pain but I absolutely understand your need for time. I'm not going anywhere."

"How can you possibly say that?"

"Cause it's how I feel."

Emily smiled, weakly. "Thank you."

It was always the hardest response for Paige to give someone. "You're welcome."

A buzzing in Paige's pocket drew her attention to her phone. Carefully reaching in and grabbing it she saw a phone number she didn't know and so she placed it down on the coffee table. 

Emily glanced at the phone. "What do you think Spencer wants?" 

The phone buzzed again from it's place on the table. 

"Spencer?"

"That's her home number."

Paige picked up the phone and answered it before the call could be sent to voicemail. "Hello. Spencer?"

"Yeah."

"Everything okay?"

"That's why I was calling. Aria said you bailed out of school today and Emily texted us about you getting messages from A. What happened?"

"Nothing. I just needed some space."

"You skipped classes and you told Emily. You need to reevaluate that statement. What aren't you tell me?" Concern peppered with annoyance filled Spencer’s tone.

There would be time for all of this later. An easy solution came to mind. "Look, Spencer, can I call you back? Emily's still here and..."

"Emily's there. Why didn't you just say so?"

"So can I call you later?"

"Yes. I’ve got some more information. Call me as soon as she leaves."

"Okay,” Something in Spencer’s tone actually made Paige wish Emily wasn’t with her. The information she must have dug up sounded urgent. “Talk to you soon."

"Everything okay with Spencer?" Emily asked in a way that seemed to indicate she was suspicious of the call.

"She was looking into something for me."

"And?"

"I'll call her later."

"Paige?"

"Whatever answers she has about what might have happened to me aren't likely to change in a few hours. I need to turn my brain off for a little while longer."

"I don't have to be anywhere until dinner. We could hang out. Watch a movie?"

"You wouldn't mind sticking around?"

"I would love that."

"Movie it is. Let me go ask Ms. Montgomery what she might have to choose from."

With her cellphone in her pocket, Paige got up from the sofa and headed towards the kitchen. Before she reached Aria’s mother she pulled her phone out and sent a text to Spencer.

\- The message from A upset me and I ran into Emily. I didn’t mean to spill to her. Maybe it’s better she knows I’m being toyed with so she can focus on something other than Maya.

After only a moment a reply came back.

\- Major information but it’s better she’s with you right now. Text me as soon as she leaves. And I will send one of the others to go and spend time with her.

Paige grew immediately concerned. 

\- What aren’t you able to tell me?

The reply from Spencer was almost instant.

\- It can wait. Just text me when she leaves.

…


	12. Chapter 12

After a lingering hug from Emily at the front door, Paige went back inside the house. Her heart pounding in her chest, she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Spencer's number.

After three rings the call went to voicemail. Paige kept it simple. "Spencer, call me."

Unsure exactly what to do next Paige decided to cover her bases and send a message via text to the two numbers she had for the girls. The moment Aria and Spencer looked at their phones they would at least be aware that Emily had left. 

Heading back down the hallway, Paige made her way to the kitchen. It was time to take another pain pill. She wasn't much for taking medication and would have skipped it but she could feel the one from earlier wearing off and the pain was excruciating. Any progress she had made was reversed after smashing into Emily. 

Reaching the kitchen, she found Mrs. Montgomery at the table grading papers. "How are you feeling?"

Paige immediately felt guilty for playing hooky from school. "Much better. Thank you." Walking to the sink, Paige filled a glass with tap water. 

"You're welcome," Aria's mom put down the pen she was making notes with and looked up from her work. Catching a glimpse of the older woman Paige knew a serious chat was coming. "You know, Paige, if you ever need someone to talk to about things. I understand it's not exactly cool to open up to a friend's mom but I'm here if you, or any of the girls, need to talk."

"Thanks," Paige repeated as she took her prescription. "I'm better. It was just a rough day at school and with everything that's happened something set me off."

The partial truth didn't exactly help stop the concern. Worry crossed Mrs. Montgomery's face. "What set you off? You aren't having issues again with the basketball team? Are you?"

Rob Polar had been a jerk again and so he would have made a well-deserved fall guy but Paige found she couldn't lie. "It wasn't him."

"Then what?"

The parental sympathy was comforting and so Paige moved to the kitchen table and took a seat. She had intended to merely thank Aria’s mom for her support but instead the truth poured from Paige's lips. "Did you ever feel so powerless it made you a little crazy for a short while?"

A sweet, small, smile crept onto Mrs. Montgomery's face. For a split second Paige saw the beauty in a woman old enough to be her mother in a way that wasn't exactly PG. Shaking off the realization Paige listened intently to the response. 

"The final couple years of my marriage I often felt a little crazy."

It was interesting to hear an adult admit to the same feelings and the confession compelled Paige to share more. "I'm not sure if Aria's said anything, or if you've figured it out, but I really like Emily."

"I know." The answer was simple and without judgment.

"And between what happened to Maya and then what just happened to me, I can't help but feel like I'm causing Emily more pain."

"Emily's a strong, young woman."

"But had Jason's car done any worse than it did..." 

Mrs. Montgomery interrupted, "Jason?"

Paige had opened a can of worms. "He stopped over last night and told me. It was his car that hit me but he was out of town at the time."

"His car? How does he know that?"

"Police ran some tests and figured it out. I'm assuming paint from my bike or something."

"If he was gone. Who was driving?"

"That's the question." Paige said to herself as much as to Aria’s mom. 

"Do they believe it was someone on a joyride or was someone trying to hurt you?"

"With things in Rosewood being what they are..." Paige added before trailing off. 

Aria's mom looked worried. "You don't think it's connected to what's happened?" 

"Which one?" Paige sadly reminded her.

Aria's mother nodded with an equal amount of grief on her face. It was like most of the adults in town; murder in a small community was hard enough but when it was a young person the wounds seemed to cut deeper and conversation was limited to vague references. "I know what happened to Maya is a mystery but I thought they had a strong case with Alison. The young man is in custody. So it can't be connected."

Paige stopped herself before she filled in any more blanks, "I don't know."

From the front of the house a door slammed. "Anyone home?" Shouted Aria. 

Jolted by the slamming, or the conversation, or both, Mrs. Montgomery looked in the direction of the front door. "In here." 

The sound of Aria's footsteps slowed a little and then she appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Everything, okay?" The question came with a look that signaled a greater unspoken question. 

Paige took the hint. "Getting there."

"Good." Aria replied trying not to look suspicious but failing. 

"I've got to finish grading these papers. Remember Paige, if you need anything."

And just like that the conversation was over. The abrupt shift was almost unsettling. It wasn't like Paige wouldn't have spoken in front of Aria but it seemed her new friend's mother didn't want to continue. 

Standing, Paige forced a yawn. "My meds are kicking in. I'm going to go lay down before dinner if that's okay."

"Of course."

"And I have homework to do." Aria quickly offered up. "Yell, when dinner is ready?"

Mrs. Montgomery nodded and then returned to her schoolwork as Paige made her way out of the kitchen. As she walked out, she heard Aria whisper something unintelligible to her mother before heading out as well. 

The two walked in silence down the hallway, up the stairs, and down the second floor hallway. It was the moment Paige reached the bedroom, where she was still staying, that Aria caught up and followed her inside the room, closing the door behind her. "What is going on?"

...

Sure Aria had concern in her tone but the fear, Paige assumed was bubbling up, could have easily been mistaken for anger. 

"Text messages." Paige offered. 

"There were more?"

"Yes and Emily happened to see me as I made my escape from school after getting one. I couldn't think fast enough to make anything up so she knows."

Aria put her bag on the floor. "She was bound to find out." 

"So is Spencer with her now?"

"Why would she be with Emily?"

"When Emily left I texted you guys, like Spencer asked me to."

"I didn't get a text."

While fighting off an inconvenient yawn Paige reached into her pocket. Handing her phone to Aria she pointed at the screen while trying not to worry. "Group text. Right there."

"I never got this." Aria said as she pulled her own phone out and handed it to Paige. 

On the screen was a list of texts from a variety of people but none from Paige. "What is going on?"

Aria didn't hesitate, "I think we should call Spencer." Taking back her phone, Aria punched the screen three times before putting it to her ear.

...

It was a good thing Aria had come home when she had. Spencer didn't answer when Aria called but Hanna was immediately sent over to find Emily and quickly checked in that the pair of them were enjoying a study session at Hanna's house. 

Once Paige knew Emily was safe she politely told Aria that she really needed to sleep off the pain medication she had taken. Her eyes were barely staying open and the only solution was rest. 

Her head hit the pillow and Paige was out like a light. 

...

"Girls! Come down here," the voice of Aria's mom echoed up the stairs.

Startled by the urgent tone, Paige pulled herself from the comfortable bed, moved quickly to the door, and towards the stairs. She had always wondered what a fire alarm felt like. After being jolted so abruptly Paige had a pretty good idea she now knew. 

As she reached the stairs Aria was coming out of her room with worry on her face. Something told Paige that this wasn't a normal tone from Aria's mother. They weren’t being called to dinner.

The girls bolted down the stairs and exchanged glances as they headed down the hall at a quick clip. Arriving in the kitchen Mrs. Montgomery was on the phone with someone as the small television in the kitchen showed what looked to be a local news bulletin. As the story on the screen sunk in, Paige couldn't believe what she was watching.

"... Circumstantial evidence is never enough and what we have concluded is that we don't have ample evidence to assure a strong conviction against Garrett Reynolds.”

The camera flashed on a woman Paige knew to be Spencer's mother. She had been serving as Garrett Reynolds' attorney despite her daughter's objection. "At this point keeping my client locked up only seems to be calming the fears of Rosewood residents. The fact is his unlawful incarceration could be putting more people at risk because the person, or persons', reasonable for Alison DiLaurentis murder are still walking free. This family deserves closure in the form of the prosecuting of the real guilty party."

The sound bite ended and the camera shot returned to the anchor in studio. "WRFF will bring you more during our 6:30 broadcast including a sit down with," Aria's mom couldn't take it and went to cut the TV off before the male anchor could finish his plug for the 6:30 news. Paige stopped her as the broadcast moved to coverage of a story of much greater interest. On the screen was the face of the man who Paige knew as Emily's new friend, Nate. "Leave it, please."

 

Aria exchanged confused glances with her mother but Paige didn't care. The person Emily had been spending time with was being shown on TV. He was being described as a dangerous young man with a history of drug addiction, who had a name other than Nate, and was wanted for questioning related to a hit and run on Main Street. 

"Could this be the person that hit you," Aria's mother asked as the anchor continued onto another story. 

"I don't know." Paige responded softly. It wasn't the fact that he might have hit her with a car but that he had been spending time with Emily, that had Paige scared. Reaching for her phone she scrolled through her photo stream to find the pictures she had taken of Emily talking with Nate at the 'coffee house.'

Before she could subtly hand the phone over to Aria it buzzed, as did the one Aria had in her jeans pocket. Both Paige and Aria reached for their phones to look at the message. 

"Don’t ever say I never gave you anything. - A"


	13. Chapter 13

After the news broke it was obviously going to be an atypical Friday night for the high school seniors. It took every bit of negotiating skills the two girls had to get Aria's mother to agree to let them out of the house. Mrs. Montgomery only relented if they agreed to be back within three hours and only if they didn't leave one another's sight. It was an easy promise to make, as Paige wasn't exactly feeling safe enough to walk the streets of Rosewood alone and neither was Aria. 

As the pair headed to Hanna's house, Paige realized her rare dose of rebellion earlier in the day reinforced she had decent instincts. Although those instincts seemed to be helping her protect herself she still couldn’t be sure where she fit into the grand scheme and why. It felt like everything that seemed wrong about their universe was building to a scary conclusion all manipulated, for reasons that were a mystery, by whomever was hiding behind the moniker of A.

"Whoever this is, what are they up to?" Paige finally asked Aria as they turned onto Hanna' s street.

"I don't know. This is a new level of strange."

"It has to be about Nate, Lyndon, whatever his name is, right?"

Aria glanced in Paige’s direction, "Why do you say that?"

"Because I got the text just like you did. If it were about Alison's killer being released why would I be pulled into it? The car accident is the common denominator. If it was him behind the wheel does whomever is doing this have a reason to want him to pay for it. Or maybe pay for something else he did before that?"

"That could be a possibility."

Aria’s words hung over the pair as they reached the porch. Before they had a chance to knock Hanna was frantically waving them inside from the large window in the front of the house. Having never been inside the blonde's home, Paige let Aria lead the way. 

As they entered the room, off the front foyer, they saw Hanna pacing the floor irritated, "Took you guys long enough.”

Glancing around the room Paige saw the TV was on but muted and Hanna was alone. Worry filled Paige’s mind. "Where's Emily?"

Hanna, who was holding the TV remote in her hand, put it down. "Someone did the research for us." 

It was like the blonde wasn’t listening. Paige couldn't believe her ears. Frustration rose in her voice. "Yes, Hanna, we know. It's why we came over."

"We also got the text,” Aria continued as she moved towards her friend. “Hanna, where is Emily?" 

"Emily didn't get the text but when she saw Nate, or whomever he really is, she bolted."

Paige was furious. "You didn't stop her."

"I was out of the room and when I came back she was gone."

Aria’s volume rose. "You left her alone?" 

"She asked for a glass of water. Maybe she went to find Spencer."

"Or maybe she went to confront Nate," Aria offered. 

Paige had thought it but couldn't bring herself to say it; thankfully Aria had. This wasn't a game. People had died. Emily was now out there alone.

Aria's phone rang which jolted the trio. "It's Spencer." Aria explained. 

"Answer it." Hanna barked. 

"Spencer," Aria just about yelled into the phone. "We're at Hanna's. Is Emily with you?"

...

Emily wasn't with Spencer and with the news of their friend going AWOL the youngest Hastings made great time getting to Hanna's house. One futile attempt after another was made to try and locate Emily while Spencer filled the girls in on what little she had learned from Jason.

After speaking with Paige at school, Spencer had formed a theory built around Jason’s reaction to the mention of Maya. Emily’s ex had been sent away to a camp for teens with drug issues. Jason had been working with at risk youth since graduating from college. Since the young woman was a transplant to Rosewood only after Alison’s death there was no way for Jason to know Maya unless, Spencer theorized, he had been someone trying to help her with her issues.

Her half-brother didn’t confirm the connection, she explained to her friends, but as she continued to push him Spencer asked if he might have known of anyone bothering Maya. Jason refused to answer but the look in his eyes and how quickly he ended the unintended interrogation was all the answer Spencer needed. Soon after, the local media erupted with news that Nate wasn't Nate. When Spencer heard where Lyndon had known Maya from the truth was clear. The three of them were connected; a fact quickly confirmed after a phone call to Caleb and a hacking of the camp’s records.

The problem now was that Jason, also, seemingly had disappeared. His car was gone. He wasn't answering his phone and the police were on the hunt for the person they believed had used Jason’s car as a weapon. What if Lyndon had gotten to Jason or Emily or both?

...

It had been almost curfew when the sound of a car driving up turned the girls attention to the front window. 

“That’s Jason’s car.” Spencer blurted out as she started towards the front door. 

Within seconds, the passenger side door opened and Emily climbed out. Paige breathed a sigh of relief. "She's okay." 

Hanna exhaled loudly, "Until I get my hands on her." The blonde moved quickly to her front door and flung it open as the car in the driveway pulled away. 

Paige admired Hanna a great deal for showing what she was too shy to show, her fear. 

"What in the hell were you thinking?" Hanna yelled loud enough for most of the neighborhood to hear. 

"I was thinking the police needed to know what I knew about Nate." Emily offered as she stepped onto the porch.

"You mean, Lyndon." Aria corrected from her place in the front hallway. 

"It's all the same," Emily said as she continued past everyone off the porch, through the house, and towards the kitchen. 

She was right. It was. 

The group of them followed after her. 

"So what did the police have to say?" Spencer asked. “And where was Jason going?”

"He didn't say much and neither did the police. They took my statement and thanked me for telling them what I knew."

"Are you okay?" Paige heard herself ask with little regard for the fact they weren't alone. 

"I've had better days and a few worse ones."

The pair of them looked at one another a moment too long which lead Hanna to a quick bit of whiplash as she glanced between the both of them. She then cleared her throat loudly. "So did A somehow tell the police who Nate really was? And if so why do that?"

"I think this is about what happened to me." Paige offered up to the group. 

"Why?" Spencer asked. 

"I've been the one being played by these texts since the night Emily turned up at Aria's."

Emily looked confused. "The night I turned up drunk?"

"Yes. They want me in on whatever the four of you have been dealing with. The messages started about Emily but then the hit and run. It was a gift to whoever is behind the texts. Somehow they knew he was driving. Ever since they’ve been manipulating that information to assure that I join the fold.”

Hanna looked confused. "Why?"

"Jason's car hit me. Spencer thinks Jason is tied to Lyndon. If Lyndon had reason to hate me enough to run me down it seems possible this person, this A, handed over Lyndon to maybe buy my cooperation or to use me to take him down."

"If your first theory is correct what do you bring to the fold?" Spencer asked following the path Paige was on.

"I don't know. Other than Emily there is nothing that ties me to you guys."

"And now because of me you’re connected." Emily offered, sadly. 

Aria shook her head. "By that theory Ezra, and Toby, and Caleb would also be pulled in." 

"Can we be certain they haven't been?" Hanna asked. 

"We would know." Spencer objected.

Hanna looked lost in thought for a second. "Not if A didn't want us to know." 

Spencer started to pace. "By that logical A’s fine with us knowing Paige had been contacted?”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Aria offered. “We only know about the text cause I came in soon after Paige got one while in the hospital. Maybe we weren’t ever meant to know and when we found out A had to adapt?”

"A likes to play a long game. I think Paige is right." Emily said as she took a seat on one of the kitchen stools. "She was pulled into this nightmare for reasons we weren't meant to know but she’s being pulled in to help A somehow."

Confusion filled Hanna’s face, "So, wait, A didn't run Paige over?" 

Emily sighed. "It was Lyndon. Jason is certain it was him."

Paige glanced at Hanna and Aria and sent them a silent look. Surprisingly, it was Hanna who understood and helped by giving both Aria and Spencer the high sign so the girls could have a moment.

Spencer pulled out her phone. "Let's try and see if I can reach Jason.”

Left alone, Paige moved to the stool next to where Emily sat and joined her. “This is not your fault.” Paige said sternly, knowing full well where Emily’s mind had been since she left the house.

“This is one hundred percent my fault.”

“No, it’s not.” 

Emily’s heart seemed to break before Paige’s eyes. Tears welled and her head started to hang. “How can you sit here and say that?”

Taking her chin, Paige raised Emily’s neck. “Because whatever this is, it’s way bigger than you. You are as much a pawn in all of this as I am. Like all your friends are. This is about A and whatever twisted game they are playing.”

“Mona’s locked up.”

“Maybe there is more than one person, or maybe it’s a copycat. You can’t take this on Emily. I won’t let you.” Silence filled the kitchen and Paige repeated softly. “I won’t let you”. 

Frustration and fear escaped Emily as she let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

Emily nodded. “Okay.”

A cough from the doorway drew Paige's eyes away from Emily. It was Aria. "Sorry to interrupt but my mom is going to ground me until I'm thirty if we don't get back to the house."

"Yep," Paige replied as she hopped off the stool and turned her attention back to Emily. "I'll see you at swim practice tomorrow?”

"Are you going?”

“I might not be able to swim but that doesn’t mean I can’t support…” Paige offered and then blushed before finishing her thought. “…The team.” 

Emily smiled, the bright smile that Paige loved. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

"And you’ll call me if you need anything."

"I will, and thanks Paige."

There was no kiss and there was no hug. Instead there was nothing but a gentle touch of Paige’s shoulder as she moved past Emily to follow Aria through the doorway and down the hall. 

It was like earlier that week in the locker room but more. The feeling lingered but this time the buzzing going through Paige’s body seemed to be peppered with the prospect of a future with the beautiful brunette who had captured her heart. Emily’s grief was seemingly giving way to thoughts of a future. Now if only the police could find Lyndon so the girls could be certain they were safe to have a future.


	14. Chapter 14

"What was she missing?" Paige wondered as frustration mingled with exhaustion and fear. 

Before they reached the house Aria had broken the news to Paige as to what Spencer's unspoken alternative theory was regarding A. None of the possible outcomes any of the girls had worked up during the evening were a comfort but Spencer's was especially troubling. 

It seemed Spencer worried that A was trying to buy Paige's cooperation. Aria warned that if the end game of dragging Paige into everything were an alliance it would destroy everything in Paige's life. The biggest of which, Aria feared, was Emily.

Losing Emily for good wasn’t something Paige could let herself consider. So she focused on why she would be a useful tool in the twisted game being played. A new theory began to form. As Paige sat in the dark thinking things over her mind couldn't stop dwelling on it. What if A had personal reasons to go after Lyndon, reasons related to Maya's death, or worse to Emily? Did Emily need protecting from A or was Paige meant to be A’s ally in protecting Emily? With all the theories banging around in her head like pinballs Paige gave up on getting much sleep around three am and started researching from her smart phone. 

After about an hour Paige found herself distracted by the conversation she had with Jenna. Could going back to before Mona was terrorizing Emily and her friends and before A had surfaced be the break Paige needed? One keystroke led to another and Paige was pulling everything from the public record related to the loss of Jenna's sight. Since Paige was limited to intuition much of what she found was dry media reporting from the time. 

Hanna's ex, Caleb, had hacking skills. The handsome, sweet, brunette wasn't exactly discrete about his abilities and Paige considered reaching out to him as soon as swim practice was over. She could have just asked Emily what happened but Paige considered Emily’s side of the story wouldn’t be enough to fill in the blanks she might need. What Paige needed was the whole story and that would probably take convincing Jenna to open up.

Some time during her marathon Internet session Paige’s shoulder injury started to act up. Around five in the morning Paige gave up trying to deal with it and made her way into the bathroom to take her medication. After swallowing two of the pills from the bottle, she double checked her alarm, put her phone away, and tried to get a little sleep before swim practice in a few short hours. She was surprisingly content as her eyes grew heavy and she drifted to sleep. 

\---

Rolling over, Paige's immediate reaction to seeing the clock on the bedside table was that it was lying to her. There was no way it was after four in the afternoon. Scrambling for her phone to check the time Paige was surprised to see quite a few alerts indicating she had messages. 

Knocking on the bedroom door, that Paige imaged had waken her, grew louder. A voice joined the banging. It was Aria's mom and she sounded worried. "Paige, is everything okay?"

"Um, yes." Paige managed to squeek out. 

"The girls called. They were concerned about you."

Paige tried to swallow but realized her mouth was as dry as a bone. "Just needed the rest." 

"Well, I will leave you to it. I'm heading out for a couple hours and will be back around dinnertime. You might want to text Aria so she knows you're okay."

"Alright." 

Footsteps moved away from the bedroom door and eventually Paige heard the front door open and close. 

The upside of her extended sleep was that it had been Saturday so Paige hadn't missed classes but she had missed the all day swim practice she had promised Emily she was going to be attending. 

Had her alarm not gone off? Checking it, things looked in order and yet she had somehow slept through it. Paige never slept through her alarm. As she rose out of bed her shoulder ached and her body felt woozy. It was an unusual feeling and reminded her of being drunk. 

Moving to the master bath, Paige started the shower. Turning the nob she made the water as hot as she thought her body could handle. Pulling out her toothbrush she tried to erase the dry, gross, feeling in her mouth. The throbbing in her shoulder was starting to return so after disrobing Paige grabbed the bottle of pain medication and opened it. Dropping a pill in her hand she then filled the glass on the counter with water. 

Before popping it in her mouth she looked at her hand and was surprised by what she saw. Instead of a pill with a rounded edge and a smooth coating what laid in her palm was a pill that was slightly longer than she remembered it being when she had last taken them and it was chalky. Looking at it more closely she noticed a tiny letter etched into the pill. Leaving the water running she retrieved her smart phone and quickly googled the description of what was in her hand. 

Within seconds the identity of the medication was on the screen. These weren’t her pills. She checked the bottle that sat on the counter in the bathroom. The label was made out to her and identified the medication she had been prescribed. The pills however, all of them in the bottle, were the same chalky pills she had just researched. Her medication had been swapped with a very powerful barbiturate. 

It was the last straw. Paige turned off the water, quickly changed into clothes, tucked one of the pills into her jeans pocket and bolted from the Montgomery house. 

\---

Paige didn't think she was going to magically discover who was responsible for swapping her medication but as she reached the porch of Jenna Marshall's home she felt like she was going to, at the very least, get to the bottom of one of the mysteries in her life. Knocking twice she waited while trying to get her emotions back in check. When the door opened, Spencer's boyfriend, Toby was standing there. 

"Hey, Paige."

"Hi Toby. Is Jenna at home?"

"No, she had a lunch date."

"Can you let her know I stopped by? It's about a class project due next week. I was hoping she would have better notes." The lie rolled off her tongue easily. 

"Um, Sure. She should be home soon. I think she was just going to The Brew."

"Thanks, Toby." Turning to leave the porch Paige did her best not to react to the information he had given her. 

\---

The walk to the coffee shop was spent texting the girls to tell them everything was okay. It was yet another lie but saying she was exhausted was a better tactic than the truth. Leaving out the part about the drugging seemed the easiest way to keep the others from panicking. 

Thanks to Aria's mom they all replied they had heard she was okay but they seemed to appreciate the message. By the time Paige arrived at the coffee shop she had just finished exchanging texts with Emily and Spencer who had the most questions. 

After entering the coffee shop Paige went to the counter and ordered a decaf tea to keep from being anymore on edge. The guy working poured some hot water in a large cup, dropped in two tea bags and capped it before handing it over. Paige paid him and then turned to take in the room. 

For a Saturday, in the late afternoon, the shop was unusually full. Typically, the place was thinning out by now. There was table after table of people on laptops, reading books, and talking to one another. With little room left it was surprising that Paige didn't notice any familiar faces until she eventually caught sight of Jenna on the back corner sofa, alone. 

Jenna looked up the moment Paige got to where she was sitting. “You look like crap.” 

“No, thanks to someone screwing with my pain meds.” The honest response was out of Paige’s mouth before she could consider why she was saying it. 

Paige would have sworn there was a moment of worry on Jenna’s face that quickly disappeared as fast as it appeared. “You don’t say.”

“Made for a very late start to my day.” Taking a sip of her tea, Paige boldly sat on the other side of the sofa. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“Not at all. Just catching up on some reading.”

“That’s funny Toby said you were here meeting someone.”

“You stalking me McCullers?”

“No, only looking for answers.”

“And you think I can help you?”

“You said Alison and the girls made your life hell. How?”

Jenna shrugged. “It’s a long list.”

“I’ve got nothing but time. Look, Jenna, I get it. You’re above it all but you see someone ran me off the road,” Paige reached into her pocket and pulled out the pill she had shoved into her jean’s pocket. “Someone swapped my pain meds with barbiturates that could have done some real damage. What’s happening to me now makes anything Alison ever did to me seem like child’s play. I’m just trying to grasp what’s happening in this town so I can stop being used like some pawn in a twisted game of chess. I refuse to be a victim of Rosewood and I think if I can piece together what happened in the past I might be able to figure out what’s going on now.” 

A wicked smile crossed Jenna’s lips and she laughed the tiniest of laughs. It was similar to the one in the library.

Paige didn’t find it amusing. “What is so funny?”

“I’m proud of you, Paige. Standing up for yourself suits you. What exactly do you want to know?”

“What did they do to you?”

* * *

The recap of events, which led to Jenna’s blinding, wasn’t easy to hear. Paige knew the girls as smart, independent, and caring people. The versions of them that Jenna claimed to have ran head first into were lemmings that never made a move without Alison’s approval. 

Paige had stayed far away from the cliché while Alison was alive because the ringleader’s very presence made her want to lash out. This meant she couldn’t exactly confirm Jenna’s versions of the girls however it wouldn’t have been too hard to ask around school to see if what Jenna was saying was the truth.

Paige wasn’t sure which ‘Alison influenced’ girl was most startling to learn about but it seemed a toss up between a mousy Hanna and a powerless Spencer. Having noticed Emily for so long, Paige wasn’t surprised to hear she had been as self-conscious and quiet as she seemed walking the hallways of school all those years ago. The most interesting observation from Jenna where Emily was concerned was her assumption, after briefly meeting her, that Emily was a lesbian. Paige considered and then quickly talked herself out of asking what Jenna’s reaction had been when they had first met. 

After thanking Jenna for sharing her version of events, the pair of them exchanged phone numbers. It had been Jenna’s idea. She thought it better for Paige to be able to call instead of having to run all over town tracking her. Of course the reasoning came with a strong dose of Jenna’s sarcasm but Paige appreciated the willingness to help. 

Noticing the time, Jenna started to pick up her belongings with an urgency that was unusual for the normally, overly calm, teenager. “Look, I’ve got somewhere I have to be tonight and if I don’t leave now I’m going to be late. You have my number.”

“Thanks, Jenna.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Perhaps it had been a total waste of time but Paige had to consider that her instincts were right. Getting parts of the past in clear view couldn’t hurt in her hunt to figure out what was going on now in Rosewood.

The moment Jenna disappeared through the coffee shop door Paige’s phone buzzed on the table. Picking it up and flipping it over she worried it was Aria’s mom checking to see if she was on her way home for dinner. She read the words on the screen. 

Isn't getting more questions answered far more interesting than watching people swim? - A

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

Dinner with the Montgomery family was filled with good food but awkward conversation. Paige could tell Aria had many more questions that she didn’t want to ask in front of her mother and brother. The glances in her direction were impossible to miss.

The entire time Paige just kept looking at Aria trying to catch a glimpse of the girl Jenna described. All three of the girls seemed so uniquely independent. The thought of them as mindless lemmings was jarring. 

After dinner Mrs. Montgomery had a date and Mike had plans with friends, which left Aria and Paige home alone. There was no avoiding the twenty questions that began the moment the door closed behind Aria’s brother. 

"So what really happened?" Aria asked.

"I overslept."

"Paige, noon is oversleeping. Nearly four in the afternoon is much more than that."

"Okay, fine," Paige said as she marched upstairs. "Follow me.

"Arriving in the bathroom she grabbed the bottle of pain meds and handed them to Aria. "I was drugged."

"Wait, what?"

"Drugged. Those aren't my pain pills."

Aria played with the lid curiosity on her face. "How do you know?"

"I looked them up online. The little letter was the give away. Those are barbiturates that my doctor never prescribed me."

Opening the bottle Aria poured a good pile of them into her hand. “What little letters?"

"The ones on the pills."

"These don't have letters on them."

"What?" Paige said grabbing back the bottle. Pouring the remaining tablets into her hand, sure enough Aria was right. No letters. Sitting in Paige's open palm where smooth coated pills like the ones she had taken since the hit and run. Frustrated she poured them back into the prescription bottle and then handed the bottle to Aria so she could do the same. "Someone swapped them back. A's been in the house. Twice."

"Could you have just taken too many of these?"

"No," Reaching into her pocket, Paige removed the two pills she had placed there after her discovery. She showed them to Aria. "Cause the bottle was filled with these when I got up."

Aria's face filled with fear. "We better call Spencer."

...

The living room was a mirror of the first time the group had included her almost a week ago. Hanna sat folded up on the sofa looking worried. Spencer paced while Emily made tea. Aria looked shell shocked, likely due to the fact someone had been in her home to do harm. 

"I don't understand what Paige getting a good night's sleep would buy anyone," Hanna said as she tapped the base of her cellphone on her thigh. "Watching the team practice doesn't exactly seem filled with clues."

"Maybe to get her hooked on them?" Aria considered. 

"That seems ridiculous," Spencer interjected. "Pill addiction takes time.”

Hanna shrugged. “Maybe they didn’t plan on her being smart enough to notice.”

Paige sat next to Hanna on the sofa. "What if it was to scare me, or all of us, off this mission to figure everything out?" 

Emily entered carrying a tray of mugs that she placed on the table by the sofa. "Whomever it is doesn't know you very well to think it would do anything but piss you off."

Paige couldn't help but smile at the honest observation. "Okay, so pretend for a second it was to piss me off. What does that buy someone?"

"When I'm pissed off I tend to lash out at people." Hanna offered as her friends nodded. 

"So, if I'm off balance I don't focus and that buys someone time?” Paige said out loud to the group and then pondered silently; “Or, as the text indicated, sends me looking for different answers which cast a new light on the four of them.”"

Spencer took one of the mugs. "So, let's refocus back to what we know. Be less caught up with the latest incident and go back to the hit and run."

Emily moved to the arm of the sofa and sat on it, her hand lying reassuredly on Paige's shoulder. "The police think Lyndon did it. Mystery solved."

The warmth of the touch was running through Paige's whole body. The contact made it hard to stay focused on the conversation but she forced herself to do so. "Could there be more to it than that? Another person involved perhaps."

"You mean A?" Aria asked.

Paige shook her head. “I’m not sure.”

"If so why push Paige to find the truth? If they were involved in the car hitting you wouldn’t they want you to think it was Lyndon and stop searching?" Hanna asked. 

"Great question." Spencer offered 

"Thank you." Hanna replied proudly as she reached towards the tray and took a mug for herself. 

"Let's just leave it for tonight. Come at it fresh in the morning." Aria offered as she fought off a yawn. "Unlike Paige I didn't manage enough sleep last night and my brain is fried from all this A stuff."

Hanna gathered up her coat. "Yeah, I should get back before my mother has my head. I was supposed to stay in tonight." 

"Get together tomorrow morning. Say eleven for coffee at the Brew?" Spencer suggested. 

"Sounds good. I will forgo my meds tonight just in case." The fact Paige could laugh, even a little bit, at what happened seem to calm the tension in the air just a touch. 

"Spencer, could you give Hanna a ride home?" Emily asked and then turned to Paige. "I'm going to stay here and help pick up. If that's okay with you?"

Paige felt the smile come to her face the instant that question was asked. "Sure."

"Night you guys." Hanna said with a wicked tone.

Aria got the hint and walked the other two girls out and didn't return. Instead her footsteps made their way up the stairs to bed.

...

"I hope it's okay I wanted to stay." Emily said the second Aria's bedroom door closed upstairs. 

Standing in the archway between the hallway and living room Emily was framed so beautifully all Paige wanted to do was pull her into her arms. Instead, she remained still in front of the sofa. "I'm glad you wanted to stay."

"I've been worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"I see that." Emily replied with a tone that implied she was well aware how shaken up Paige was over what happened. 

"Really, I'm good."

Emily took a few steps into the room. "I'm sure you are."

"You don't look like you’re sure. You look like you think I’m lying to you."

"Paige, it had to have spooked you."

"At first. Then, as you said, it just pissed me off."

“You don’t have to protect me from your feelings.”

The comment Paige wished held two meanings as she hoped her response wouldn’t. “I’m not.”

Emily continued the path into the living room so that she stood only inches from Paige. "Well, it scared me. What if you had taken too many?"

"But I didn't."

"None of us seemed to want to say it but that might have been the real goal." As Emily spoke her voice began to crack. 

"Hey, I'm okay." Paige said as she reached over and gently took both of Emily’s hands.

The second the contact was made Emily wrapped her arms tightly around Paige and buried her face in her shoulder. The hug was filled with more emotions than there was time for. As best as Paige could manage with the condition of her arm and her unwillingness to risk any more run-ins with doctored medication she returned the hug. They stayed in each other's arms for a couple of minutes until Emily broke the connection. 

"I'm sorry. I just needed that."

"I'm not complaining." Paige replied more flirtatiously than she thought herself capable of being. 

Emily smiled in a way that made her seem more flirtatious than maybe she intended. "I'm glad." 

They stood, once again inches apart, neither moving. Both staring at the other as if memorizing the colors of their eyes and then, like an unspoken need, arms captured one another as lips did the same. 

\---

Untangling themselves from one another on the sofa Emily pulled Paige against her and smiled while moving a loose strand of hair away from her face. 

Paige stared at the fireplace across the room and tried to keep her emotions, over what they had shared with one another, in check. It was more than she had ever hoped for and too much to allow herself to process. She loved Emily Fields but that love might have allowed them to make the biggest mistake of their young lives. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

Paige nodded.

“Paige?”

“I just never thought.”

Emily shifted enough to bring Paige’s eyes to hers. “Are you sorry we did?”

“Are you?”

“No.”

“I’m not either.”

“Good. I’m only sorry it could have been under better circumstances and not while worrying if Aria’s mom was going to walk in on us.” 

The blush that rose to Emily’s face was contagious as Paige felt the heat go to hers as well. "Will you stay for a while? I'm not likely to be tired any time soon."

"Happily."

"Good."

"Do you want some more tea?" Emily said as she rose from under the blanket and put the clothing that had come off back on. Paige tried not to stare at the beauty before her. 

"I would love some." Dressed and after a quick peck on the cheek Emily scooped up the tray and mugs from around the room and then bounded towards the kitchen. 

Paige's heart felt so full that it might burst. 

...

 

As Paige's slide her phone back into her jean’s pocket it vibrated. Removing it, Paige was surprised to see it was Jenna calling. "Hello."

"Paige, we have to meet." The girl's tone was frantic. 

"Jenna, are you okay?"

"There’s no time to make small talk, Paige." Jenna's continued rapid-fire words caused the hair on Paige's arms to rise. "We need to meet. Now." 

"What's going on?"

"I can't on the phone. Is there some place we can go and not be followed?"

Paige gave it some thought. "Couldn't we just meet at your place or you could come by Aria’s?"

"It's too dangerous."

"Jenna, what is going on?"

"I figured it out. Just meet me. What about the golf course? You mentioned the golf course?"

"To watch the stars not to have..."

Jenna interrupted. "Meet me at the gardener shed on the course and tell no one."

The phone went dead. Paige stood holding it and wondered what to do. 

"Who was that?" Emily asked as she entered Aria's living room holding two mugs.

"It was Jenna."

"What did she want?"

"For me to meet her."

"What for?"

"She says she knows something."

Emily put the mugs on the coffee table. "So let's go."

"She told me to come alone."

"That’s not happening.”

"If we go together we could scare her off."

"If you go alone something could happen to you. Just let me call the others. We’ll make a plan." Emily said as she turned to her bag and removed her phone from it.

The possibility that Emily might be caught in any cross fire was too much to handle. Seeing Emily’s car keys sitting on the coffee table in front of the sofa made Paige’s next move a simple one. 

As she bolted from the Montgomery household, with the keys to Emily's car in her hand, she knew she was doing the right thing. The engine started easily and as she pulled out of the driveway the image of Emily, standing on the front porch yelling after her, tried to fight it’s way out of her memory to be replaced by the feeling of Emily’s lips on hers.


	16. Chapter 16

Is it wise for the blind to be following the blind? - A

Among all the angry messages she ignored after running from the Montgomery house it was the one from A that Paige worried about most. How was it that in the short time since leaving, that the mystery tormentor had learned what was going on? And what did the message mean? Was A trying to chase Paige off the pursuit of answers from Jenna? Or was it merely a warning to be extra cautious?

Paige might have been completely out of her element but her instincts told her she was doing the right thing. The call might have been a trap but it also might have been the only way to get answers and hopefully Emily would understand that the action taken was about protecting her. 

With a shoulder throbbing so badly that no amount of pills were going to help, Paige decided the rush of adrenaline in her body was directly proportionate to the pain but she had no choice. In all reality she didn't feel exactly prepared to be following any lead Jenna was offering but it was time to end things. Either Jenna knew the truth or Jenna was A. Either way answers would be had tonight. 

When Paige pulled into the parking lot of the golf course she didn't see any signs of life. Exiting Emily's car and shutting the door as quietly as she could Paige took in the surroundings. Even in the off season the well bankrolled country club had lights turned on, Paige imagined to keep vandals away but hoped on this evening it would help more than that. 

Squinting, Paige noticed in the distance, movement more than one hundred yards away. It appeared to be three figures, two of which being forced into a golf cart by a third person. From what little Paige could make out one of them appeared to be Jenna and the other, in the front seat, appeared to be a blonde male. She couldn't swear it was Jason DiLaurentis but it certain looked like it might be him. The commanding figure climbed into the back seat with Jenna and the cart headed off into the darkness. 

As she was about to head off after the cart Paige's phone buzzed again. It was Emily. 

"Just tell me where you are and let us come help you," the text read.

Paige had two choices. She could either ignore the offer of help or take it. What worried her was if Emily decided to come alone so instead of texting Emily back Paige decided to cover her bases. Finding Hanna in her contact list she reached out. 

The blonde answered on the first ring. "Jesus, Paige, Emily is freaking out. What were you thinking?"

"That Jenna had answers and said to come alone."

"Jenna is hardly Ms. Honesty."

"Look, I don't have time to debate this Hanna. Jenna is at the golf course but she's not alone and it doesn't look like she came here willingly."

"See, it was a setup."

"Or she's in danger."

"Either way, sit tight until we can get to you."

"Can't. I need answers and she might need help." Paige said as she ended the call, turned her ringer off, and opened the flashlight application on her phone. 

Here was hoping that Hanna, knowing her location, would rally the rest of the girls, and maybe even the police, instead of Emily coming alone. 

\--- 

Once Paige got further onto the course the light from anything but her cellphone disappeared and so she turned that off as well so to not alert anyone of her presence. At least the stars were out in force making the sky beautiful. What little light marked the fairways came from the crescent moon in the sky. Thankfully, Paige knew her way around the property pretty well, having spent many solitary nights hiding out there as a kid.

Paige continued moving in the direction of where she saw the cart disappear and after walking for about fifteen minutes the groundskeeper's shed came into view with a golf cart parked on the side of it. 

Lurking among the trees Paige got within about ten yards from the back of the shed when she heard voices. Jenna was arguing with someone and it looked like Paige's instincts might have been dead on. 

"I don't care what you think. It's not true," Jenna could be heard yelling from inside the shed. 

With very little light to guide her way Paige used her hands against the building to help her get a closer look. The irony of being nearly blind because of the lack of light while trying to get a better look at someone who was once blind wasn't lost on Paige. 

"You're lying," came a voice Paige didn't recognize. There was a loud bang from inside the shed as what sounded like something was sent smash against something metal. 

"You don't scare me."

"I should."

"People know we're here."

Jenna might not have sounded scared but Paige was terrified as to what she might walk in on. There was little choice though. Maybe Jenna wasn't the nicest person in Rosewood but whatever was happening inside sounded like it was going too far. 

Another louder crash came from inside the shed followed by a scream. Things were escalating and from the sound of things Jenna was on the receiving end of something by either one or, possibly, two people.

Paige wanted to run far away. She wanted to be sitting at Aria's house holding Emily but she was the only person who could stop whatever was happening inside. The yelling was getting louder as the male voice attached to the rant was getting angrier. Paige couldn't stand by and do nothing. 

Moving as quickly as she could with little light to help guide her Paige reached the door to the keeper's shed and noticed the garage portion near the entry door was ajar. A small amount of light could be seen coming through the crack and a great deal of noise. The yelling was getting chaotic as was the sounds of metal on metal. Paige had no way to tell who or what she was about to face so she took a deep breath and bounded her way inside. 

...

For a split second the bright light of the shed jolted Paige's senses but as she adjusted she sprang into action. Picking up the closest thing she could, a golf iron that was lying against the side of the shed, Paige moved in the direction of the assault happening before her. One swift swing to the back of the man who had begun strangling Jenna after knock an object from her hand and he stopped and fell forward with a surprised yelp. 

He was down but he wasn't out as he whipped his head in Paige's direction. Her heart slammed into her chest and as she saw the condition of a seemingly breathing but battered Jenna and the fire in the man’s eyes. Paige feared for her life. 

"You bitch," the man she now knew as Lyndon, yelled as he got to his feet and dove in Paige's direction. 

Swinging the golf club feverishly to keep him at a distance Paige tried to take in the surroundings to see if there was a better weapon than a golf club. She was fit but broken. Lyndon was almost twice her size and now even more enraged than he had been before she entered the room. 

Lyndon began to laugh at Paige's defensive actions as he picked up a much larger object, a metal shovel, and began to use it to fight off the golf club. The long metal rod began to quickly mangle after each hit by the weapon in Lyndon's hands. 

"Couldn't leave yourself out of it. Couldn't just slink away. Couldn't take a hint," he yelled as he swung the shovel extra hard on each sentence. 

Her line of defense cracked in half on the third swing.

Throwing the club at him Paige tried to make her escape. She thought that perhaps she could gain an upper hand in the dark and that it might give Jenna a chance to escape. Bolting for the door she made it within a few feet and was grabbed. The pain to her shoulder made her eyes water as her body was thrown back into the room and landed. Colliding against a riding lawn mower her left side hurt so badly she feared she would black out. 

Convinced she was dead if she didn't keep moving Paige willed herself to her feet but only long enough to stand straight up and then feel Lyndon's open hand connect with great force against the left side of her cheek. The contact was so hard Paige ended up back on the ground at the foot of the lawn mower. The fact she landed on her healthy side wasn't much consolation as equal pain rose on that side. Rolling, as best she could, caused even more pain and the attempt to get free was futile as Lyndon reached her. Glancing to her right, just as Lyndon’s large hands started to grab her, Paige was shocked to see no sign of Jenna.

Pulled to her feet Paige was face to face with him. Her heart hammered loudly and she was certain his was the last thing she would see before he beat the life out of her. Blood was pooling in her mouth and her shoulder was completely dislocated. Futilely, struggling against his grip she waited for the hand he was raising to once again make contact with her face. Paige thought of Emily and began to close her eyes so that her last memory was that of the beautiful woman who held her heart. Just as her lids began to completely close Paige watched as the shovel he had been holding swung.

Lyndon yelled, drop his grip on Paige and crumbled to the ground.

The swing came from a figure in a black hoodie who disappeared as quick as they appeared. Whoever it was, they gave Paige a window of opportunity. 

Fight or flight? 

Flight.

Paige headed for the door hoping she could get help before anything more serious happened but before she reached safety, Paige felt her foot being grabbed. Tripped she connected hard against the ground sending her body into shock. Kicking and screaming, she landed a sneaker against Lyndon hard enough to get free. 

Somehow scrambling to her feet, Paige picked up the discarded shovel and without giving it another thought, just as Lyndon got to his feet, she swung it as hard as her body would let her. A loud, horrific, crack was followed by a heavy thud as the room started to spin. 

Standing in the shed with pain coursing through her body and tasting her own blood Paige thought she heard a siren before the room went dull. Standing, in a trance, over a motionless Lyndon James, Paige at least knew she was safe.


	17. Chapter 17

Paige was enjoying a calm day at the beach. The sand, in-between her toes, was warm and soothing. The surroundings were serene and private. The hot, summer, sun bouncing off the clean, crisp, water was causing a glare but not enough of one that Paige couldn't still make out Emily moving towards her out of the surf. Water covered Emily’s beautiful body, her hair wet and pulled back, and a giant smile that promised more than just happiness, was on the brunette’s face. The sight of her was electric and everything was perfect.

It was all so perfect until a gentle beeping pushed the perfect away and Paige's body felt heavy. She hurt everywhere. 

Her eyes fluttered open and Paige was aware of two things, she was in a hospital bed and she wasn't alone. Turning ever so slightly both feelings were confirmed. Machines were connected to wires that were connected to her body and sitting in a chair by the door was Spencer Hastings, her nose in her phone. Paige tried to speak but nothing came out but a squeak. 

The sound must have been enough. "You're awake!" Spencer said, as she bounced to her feet. 

As Paige lifted her head off the pillow a sharp pain, like a knife driving into her collarbone, pushed it's way past whatever medication she knew the lines going into her were pumping. She couldn’t help crying out and tears rose to her eyes.

"Stay still. It'll hurt less."

Taking Spencer’s advice, Paige stopped trying to move and managed to speak. "Where?" 

"Rosewood Community. You've been out for a couple days."

"How?"

Spencer moved to the bed and poured water into a plastic cup. She then added a straw before bringing it to Paige's mouth. The act of sipping the cool wetness soothed Paige’s dry throat. 

"We were afraid. So we called the police with an anonymous tip that students were planning a prank at the golf course," Spencer explained as she put the cup back down. "By the time we arrived it was a circus. Jenna was on a gurney being put into an ambulance and we could see you being helped by the police into a second one."

"Jason?" Paige said with great effort. 

"What about him?" Spencer asked, confusion in her eyes. 

"Is he okay? I think he was there."

Spencer didn't hide her concern very well. "I don't know? We haven’t been able to reach him since before you ran off.”

"I saw three people at first. Wait, Jenna?" 

Somehow, Spencer managed to set aside her concern for Jason by answering Paige's question. "She's been awake since yesterday but is very banged up. Her wounds were more extensive than yours but they do expect her to make a full recovery. You probably saved her life."

“Can I have more water?” 

Spencer picked the cup back up and helped Paige take another sip. 

"Is Emily…?"

Holding the cup, in case Paige wanted more, Spencer answered, honestly. "Upset at you but that's just her fear talking."

Relieved, Paige still wanted to explain. "I only wanted to protect..."

"I know," Spencer interrupted with what could only be described as appreciation on her face.

There was one more question Paige needed to ask but feared the answer. "Did I, is he…?”

Spencer nodded slowly. "It was self defense."

An unexpected grief smacked Paige and tears, not of pain but of remorse, pooled in her eyes. "I never meant. I only wanted..."

Spencer moved the cup back onto the tray and then placed her hand on Paige’s. "My mother stepped in as your advocate with the police. From what I overheard, the D.A's office won't be pressing charges. They feel Jenna's statement more than established self defense and all the recent evidence that has come to light helped as well."

Paige was confused.

"From what has been pieced together he was the one driving Jason's car the night you were hit and from evidence collected he was the one who killed Maya."

As the puzzle pieces fell into place Paige's thoughts came full circle. "Emily."

"She's managing. She's here, you know. Been here every day since you were admitted. After they moved you from ICU we've been taking turns staying with you during visiting hours."

Paige smiled. 

"Let me get her."

"No."

"She's been waiting."

"I..."

"It'll be okay," Spencer, said with a smile and a pat of Paige’s hand. She then made her way out of the room. 

Paige was powerless to stop Spencer from getting Emily so she prepared herself for what was coming. Every possible version of the conversation flew through her mind and each one was worse than the last. 

When the door opened again there was no sign of Spencer. Emily was standing in the doorway, a hesitant look on her face that was a far cry from the one in Paige's dream. "Hi."

"Hi," Paige said and then winched after trying to re-adjust in the bed. 

"Lay still. You'll hurt yourself." Emily said as she entered the room and approached the bed. The door closed behind her. 

"Too late."

"Whose fault is that?" Emily’s clear attempt at humor, deservedly, fell flat. 

"Mine."

A frown came to Emily's face and then disappeared. "I'm sorry. I promised I wouldn't get upset."

"I scared you. I get it."

"Why did you go alone?"

Paige looked deeply into Emily's eyes and lost all ability to speak. 

"Had we both been there you might not be in this condition."

The memory of what happened unfolded in Paige's memory and her words returned. "Or?"

In a silent reply Emily reached out and carefully took Paige's hand. As Paige's eye connected with the sight of their hands intertwined, tears fell. Instantly, Emily's other hand was brushing them away. "Hey, it's okay. We're okay."

"Are we?"

"Yes."

Despite the pain of her injury and the haze of the medication she was on a weight lifted. Emily never lied. "I didn’t mean..."

"I know."

"I just…"

"I know," Emily repeated as she carefully squeezed Paige's hand. "And you saved Jenna's life. Just promise you will never shut me out like that again. We're stronger together."

"Really?"

"Really," Emily replied and then leaned in and kissed Paige's lips. 

A feeling of falling washed over Paige as their lips touched. The joy from the contact was immediately followed by a very sharp pain that flew through her body. “Ouch, ouch, ouch.”

Emily pulled back and looked down at Paige. “I’m so sorry, your stitches.”

“I must look terrible.”

“You look beautiful.”

Paige blushed despite herself. 

...

Spencer Hasting stood in the doorway of the hospital room watching through the window. She didn't mean to stare but the sight of the two of them, Spencer found she couldn't look away. It was clear Emily had finally closed the chapter on her grief over losing Maya and seemed prepared to move on with Paige. Spencer couldn’t have been happier. The two of them fit.

A ping redirected her attention. She had been expecting to hear news from Hanna about Garrett's release so she pulled her phone out of her bag. Reading the words on the screen, Spencer froze. 

\- It all worked out and we welcome Paige to the fold. Just remember what happens to people who interfere. - A

Spencer reread the words and then looked up to see Paige and Emily holding hands and smiling at one another. Reading between the lines Spencer knew that for the happiness in the hospital room to continue every instinct Paige had followed trying to solve the mystery of her accident could never be directed at A. 

...

Epilogue 

Sitting on the front steps of Emily's house, Paige's was a wreck. Her shoulder was in a complicated brace that was helped to stay balanced by a sling. She had stitches on her lip, her nose was still heeling from the break, and a very ugly, bruised, jaw, that somehow managed not to be broken, gave her face a nice splash of horrendous color. She was black and blue even in places hidden by the baggie clothes she was force to wear to accommodate all her injuries. 

Paige looked ridiculous but not just from the injuries. When she had arrived, Emily had insisted she sit patiently outside with a blindfold on. The strict instructions had been ‘no peeking’ and Paige knew not to disobey.

Sitting on the steps, in the dark, Paige was left with only the sounds of Rosewood. It was a typical Saturday in the fall. Cars were moving through the streets, kids were playing in the yards, and, due to the unseasonably warm weather, at least one neighbor was mowing their lawn. She felt lucky to be experiencing all of it.

"I said no peeking." Emily scolded as Paige fidgeted on the stoop. 

"I'm not."

Footsteps moved towards her, around her, and then Paige felt the blindfold being untied. As her eyes adjusted to the light from the sunny day, her field of vision caught sight of something familiar. "You fixed my bike?"

"Not exactly. It's a new one."

"It looks exactly like mine."

Emily laughed. "The stickers around the beam were hard to find."

Paige smiled at the familiar logos. "This had to have cost you guys a fortune."

"Ezra was trying his best to try to rebuild the broken one when this turned up at Spencer's."

"Who?"

"We don't know. But the helmet and the stickers are from the four of us."

Kissing Emily gently on the lips, as anything more would have hurt, Paige couldn't have been happier to have her bike back even if would be weeks before she could ride it. "I love it."

"I'm glad. Now, I will be right back. Don't go anywhere."

Emily disappeared into her house again and Paige stared at the bike like it was made of magic. How had she gotten so lucky? She had a great girlfriend, survived a hit and run and a near death experience, school was going well, and her bike was back, even if it wasn’t exactly her bike. The nightmares were even starting to subside thanks in part to her therapy sessions with Dr. Sullivan. The time spent talking through what happened, along with her physical therapy, were helping Paige recover. She was feeling whole again, maybe for the first time in her life.

The only disappointment was swimming but Paige was determined to be back in the pool competing. She knew it wasn’t exactly a realistic goal considering her injuries. Thanks to Dr. Sullivan, Paige was slowly coming to terms with the possibility of having to give up that dream. Her therapist had told her she would have to find something else she loved as much as being in the water and after her ordeal, Paige was leaning towards exploring criminal justice as a possible college major. It might not provide the same rush as taking a turn going full throttle but she imagined it had it’s own brand of excitement.

The kind of excitement books could provide was liable to be her only outlet for a while. The bike looked perfect but she wasn’t going to be riding it anytime soon. While moving to look at it more closely, Paige noticed a car pull up in front of Emily's and stop. When her eyes made contact with the car, the back window rolled down. Sitting in the back, passenger’s side, seat was Jenna Marshall. 

They hadn't seen one another since that night. Paige started to go in the direction of the car but Jenna shook her head no. It immediately stopped Paige's approach. Even from a distance Jenna’s injuries showed but she looked better than Paige had worried she might. Jenna was a survivor.

Before Paige could say anything or continue her path to the vehicle, the dark-haired loner nodded, said something that Paige couldn’t hear to the person in the front seat, and then rolled up the window as the car pulled away. 

Paige managed a smile and a small wave with her better arm. When the car was out of sight she returned to the stoop just in time for Emily to return with a cup of coffee. 

“Careful, it’s hot.”

Paige took the mug with her good hand and held it. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Emily said as she sat down next to her. “So you like the bike?”

“I love it. I can’t wait until I’m healthy enough to ride it.”

“There is no rush. Let’s get you healthy first. In the meantime, we will just have to walk everywhere together because I am not letting you out of my sight.”

Paige put the mug down behind her as the guilt of all she had done reappeared. “I’m sorry.”

“We’ve already talked about this. I understand and I’m grateful you wanted to protect me but from now on we face things together because that’s what couples do.”

With the stiches in her lip it was hard to smile too wide but Paige wasn’t going to let pain keep her from expressing how damn happy she was to hear Emily say the word ‘couple’. Taking the mug from Emily’s hand, Paige put it aside and turned so they could face one another. “I love you Emily Fields and I promise, no more deciding for you what’s best.”

“And I love you Paige McCullers and I’m going to hold you to that promise.”

The two of them moved towards one another and kissed softly as Paige felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Whoever it was, they could wait. There were more important things in her life than whatever was happening on her phone. 

THE END...


End file.
